Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling
Well into the 19th century, Americans relied on fireplaces to warm their homes in winter. But that method wasn’t simply inefficient — it was ineffective, too. Travel a few feet from the fireplace, and you might start shivering again.
In this episode, the History Guys look at what happened when stoves became widely available in the mid-19th century, and how that technology altered Americans’ way of life. They also consider the advent of air conditioning a century later, and explore its far-reaching implications on everything from architecture and leisure to demography and politics.
How did America become the “land of comfort?” And what lessons does the history of climate control hold for us today?
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Full transcript
Guests Include:
- Daniel Filene — blogger, Cold House Journal
- Howell Harris — historian of technology and expert on 19th century stoves
- Gail Cooper — author, Air Conditioning America: Engineers and the Controlled Environment 1900-1960
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Further Reading:
18th Century
- Benjamin Franklin’s 1744 pamphlet “Account of the New Invented Pennsylvanian Fire-Places“
- Benjamin Franklin recalls his invention of the Franklin Stove in his autobiography
19th Century
- Howell Harris’s extensive web space exploring the cast-iron stove
- “The Favorite Poison of America“: Andrew Jackson Downing on the evils of stoves
- Excerpts from the letters and diaries of Frederic Tudor, 19th-century ice mogul
- Gavin Weightman’s excellent book, “The Frozen Water Trade: A True Story“
- The heritage of HVAC
20th Century
- The Chairman of the Air Conditioning and Refrigerator Institute discusses early AC, beginning with early 20th-century “atmospheric theaters”
- The story of the experimental 1950s “air-conditioned village” in Austin, TX, plus the results of the experiment
- An interview with air conditioning historian Marsha Ackerman
- Air conditioning as emblem of American malaise: Henry Miller’s Air Conditioned Nightmare
- Who needs heat? Not these 21st-century New Yorkers…much like their predecessors at the turn of the 20th century
- Cold House Journal, the blog of a couple who spent one winter in Maine with “almost no heat”
- You’ve just experienced the warmest decade on record
16 Responses
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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Who invented the Franklin Stove? « The Do It Yourself Scholar :
[...] story is related in Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling (website), the latest episode of BackStory (website, iTunes). It seems that Franklin made some (not very [...]
Quote -- March 8, 2010 @ 2:35 pm -
Backstory « Cold House Journal :
[...] the history of home heating and air-conditioning. The piece is out on their website now; you can listen here. I learned a lot. I also found the “Further Reading” [...]
Quote -- March 9, 2010 @ 6:52 am -
“Climate Control” Transcript | BackStory With The American History Guys :
[...] of Heating and Cooling,” broadcast in March 2010. You can listen to the entire episode here. [...]
Quote -- March 22, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
Of course, the obvious question is: how did the invention and spread of air conditioning change demographics, population trends, the growth of industry, etc.?
QuoteWhile growing up in Michigan, with its cold, wet winters and hot, humid summers, and its plague of mosquitos (which must have been far worse before the swampy land was drained), I had to wonder why anyone would have settled there. Was the climate different in the 19th century? I know it’s warmer now than in the 1960s, but what was it like in 1800s?
QuoteI recall the Laura Ingalls Wilder book, The Long Winter. Heavy snows kept the rail lines closed, and without the arrival of fresh coal, people risked death. Can it be said that the coal that allowed for the railways also allowed for the settlement of these areas without wood to provide heat?
QuoteAs we try to reduce our energy use, what lessons can we learn from how Americans heated and cooled themselves in the past, in particular with regard to housing design?
QuoteAlong the Missouri river there were areas totally denuded of trees during the late 1700 to mid 1800s due to the forts built for the fur trapping enterprises. Most of the labor in forts were spent searching for firewood and stockpiling it for winter.
QuoteI’ve always been curious how people survived extreme temperatures – especially women in those long dresses — How did people survive the heat working the fields in the plantations in the south, the wagon trains in the desert, the Antartic…not just for a day or two but for years! How did they physically manage everything? And what were the long term effects on their health and emotions?
QuoteHey, guys. Great topic!!!
I’m a professional mechanical engineer in southern california, so I design HVAC systems for commercial buildings.
One story I’ve always loved from history is about the “Alphabet buildings”. See, before the advent of commercial HVAC, architects had to make sure that everyone in a building was within about 20 feet of an openable window. So, if you looked at them from the sky, they all looked like Os, Us, Ts, Is, As, of Hs.
I try to tell my architect clients this, but they don’t really seem to care. But, if you think about it, before the 20s, you’d never be able to build a structure that’s 100ft by 100ft. The poor souls in the midde would suffocate and burn up!! Even in the winter!
Of course, nowadays, its all about energy. The HVAC system is a big user of energy. But, its an even bigger accountant of energy. Every kw that you use in your building has to get shuffled around by your HVAC system.
Someone also mentioned that history could teach us some lessons on building energy. Boy, it sure could. How about this one: Don’t build glass boxes, they focus the sun’s energy into the building like magnifying glasses do to ants. Sadly, nobody wants to hear that…. glass buildings are so pretty.
I can’t wait to hear this show!
QuoteI wonder whether the fear of Washington summers played into the legislative effectiveness of FDR’s first 100 days. Since the inauguration occurred later in 1933 than it does now, 100 days would have placed Congress at the beginning of summer. FDR’s threat to keep Congress in session during the sticky Washington summer might have seemed formidable in an era before air conditioning, and contributed to the alacrity with which it passed laws.
QuoteDear History Guys,
QuoteGreat show! Loved the bit about cast iron stoves. I once heard that Walt Disney would make mini potbelly stoves out of clay as a hobby.. your thoughts? Thanks!
You invited us to share our favorite heating/cooling stories. When I was a teenager and had my first summer job I wanted to buy an air conditioner for my room. My parents wouldn’t let me because of the costs of energy. To protest I decided to be naked. I got in an argument with my mother who said “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t walk around naked.” we did live in a glass house and was right.
QuoteWonderful topic! First time listener but as a long time history nerd, I’m forever hooked on your show.
QuoteGood show! On the subject of the introduction of early air conditioning it should be noted that the technology was developed to remove moisture from the air rather than to temperature control. Willis Carrier (later – Carrier Air Conditioners) was an engineer employed by a printing press who was looking for a way to keep skids of paper from warping and buckling due to changes in the moisture content of the air.
QuoteIn the early 50′s having air conditioning would make many businesses boom. I remember, as a child, going to the movies just to get out of the heat of Utah. It did not always matter what was playing. Now you know why many movies were seen several times a week by the same patrons.
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