1935 New Meaning To “Floor Models”

In the March 20, 1935 issue ofThe News, Kelvinator announced that it was showing its latest line of air conditioning equipment to its dealers. The 1935 line consisted of six self-contained air conditioners, seven floor-type cabinet air conditioners, 12 suspended units and 16 condensing units especially designed for air conditioning work. Self-contained models had a capacity range of 0.55 to 1.6 tons of refrigeration employing a two-cylinder compressor located in the bottom of the cabinet.



1963 Sign Up and See The World

Two years after it was founded, the Peace Corps announced it was looking for refrigeration technicians and plumbers to volunteer for a vocational education project in Iran, said a March 18, 1963Newsarticle.

“Volunteers, 50 in all, will serve as assistant teachers of refrigeration techniques in vocational training schools, working under experienced Iranian supervisors,” spelled out the Peace Corps.

According to the Corps, “The lack of trained mechanics in many occupations has handicapped the industrialization and modernization of the country [Iran]. Vocational education provides part of the answer. Peace Corps volunteer teachers…could produce a growing source of skilled labor necessary to accelerate Iran’s economic development.”

If you were a Peace Corps hvacr volunteer who went over to Iran or elsewhere, we’d like to hear your story and publish it in a future issue of The News. Send it to: “Hvacr Memories,” Attention: Cherie R. Preville, The News, 755 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 1000, Troy, MI 48084.



1971 My Crystal Ball Is Cloudy

By 1985, annual sales of unitary air conditioners will be at 7 million, said a March 22, 1971Newsarticle. “That year and that unit volume are the center points of estimates made by several air conditioner manufacturers in answer to a News survey.” Some of those interviewed predicted that one of the reasons for the predicted growth would be due to commercial and residential replacement sales.

According to the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) in the April 7, 1986 News, the shipments of U.S. heat pumps and air conditioning units in 1985 totaled 3,290,510. In 2000, unitary shipments added up to a record 6,685,481 units, according to ARI figures.

Publication date 03/19/2001