Glancing Back: Industry Milestones

1934 Excursion into Hvac

According to the March 7, 1934 News, American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp., now known as American Standard, organized a special air conditioning division to aid its subsidiaries in coordinating their work in the air conditioning field, announced the then chairman of the board of the corporation, Clarence M. Woolley.

Subsidiaries of the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp. producing air conditioning equipment at the time included American Blower Corp., Campbell Metal Window Corp., Fox Furnace Co., Ross Heater & Mfg. Co., Detroit Lubricator Co., and American Radiator Co.

Though these are no longer subsidiaries of American Stand-ard, it acquired The Trane Com-pany in 1984, thus continuing its presence in the hvacr industry.

1983 Three out of Four Isn’t Bad

In an article in the March 7, 1983 News, it was reported that more than three out of four residential central a/c units and heat pumps shipped by U.S. manufacturers in 1982 had a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of at least 7.5, according to the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). Seventy-nine percent of the air conditioners covered by the DOE test method and shipped between January and September 1982 had a 7.5 or higher SEER, 70% had an 8 or higher SEER, and 46% had an 8.5 or higher SEER.

Of the heat pumps covered by the DOE test method and shipped in the first nine months, 75% had a cooling mode SEER of 7.5 or higher, 41% had a SEER of 8 or higher, and 3% had a SEER of 8.5% or higher.

In contrast, the current SEER minimum is 10, and could be increased further within the next few years.

2000 A Good year for Goodyear

As reported by John R. Hall in the March 6, 2000 issue, the lawsuit, filed in 1997, of Heatway Radiant Floors & Snowmelting vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was decided in Goodyear’s favor.

Chiles Power Supply (d.b.a. Heatway) asserted that Entran II hoses made by Goodyear failed due to the use of “inadequate antioxidants, inappropriate vol-atile plasticizers, and inexpensive clay filters,” resulting in ruined and irreparable residential radiant heating systems.

Goodyear claimed that the hoses weren’t faulty, but that damage was induced by incorrect design, installation, and maintenance. An effect of this jury decision is that Heatway filed under Chapter 11 for bankruptcy. Heatway was subsequently pur-chsed by Watts Industries and is now part of the Watts family, known as Watts Heatway.

Publication date: 03/05/2001