Air Conditioning FAQs
What is ducted air conditioning?
A central air conditioning system, in this case, ducted air conditioning, is a means of cooling entire buildings and offices through a series of air ducts connected to a large office air conditioning unit. These are often situated outside the building as they are often large and can be loud.
Alternatively, you can have a split system. This means part of the system is outside and each room has its own small unit. This has the benefit of allowing each room to be cooled allowing for different temperatures.
Commercial air conditioning is usually a duct system as these work better for larger areas as individual units aren’t required to be installed in each room. On the other side, residential homes often use split systems to allow for individual controls in each room of the house.
If you’d like to see more about the commercial air con systems we provide, visit our Air Conditioning Services page.
Can air conditioning make you cough?
The most common myth is that air conditioning can cause illnesses such as the common cold and flu. This is, of course, untrue, you’re just as likely to catch an illness with or without air conditioning. However, there is some truth when it comes to regular coughing which can be caused through the use of an air conditioner unit.
This is for two main reasons, firstly, air conditioning units can cause the air to be drier as they remove moisture from the room. This dry air can irritate our throat which benefits from humidity and causes a cough. This is why modern AC units often have a humidifier inbuilt to allow for moisture to be re-entered into the air which avoids this problem. If you struggle with this issue, we recommend upgrading your system or installing a humidifier.
The other cause for this can be old, dirty air filters within the air conditioning system. This can add particulates or simply deliver unclean air. This again can cause irritation within the throat which leads to coughing. It’s important to ensure your air filter stays clean and is replaced when necessary.
Does air conditioning affect asthma?
Air conditioning should not affect those suffering from asthma and in fact, should be beneficial as the air that goes through an air conditioning unit should be even cleaner than regular air as it travels through a filtration system. So, as mentioned above, if your air con is having an effect on your asthma, your air filter may need replacing.
Can pets get sick from air conditioning?
Pets, should not face any difficulties due to air conditioning. However, issues can be caused due to drastic changes in temperature has been tied to pneumonia. It’s generally bad to move from very hot to chilled environments and vice versa for both humans and pets. We recommend transitioning them between hot and cold gradually to avoid this. For example, move them into a non-air conditioned room in the house before taking them outside.
Who invented air conditioning?
The first modern air conditioner was invented by American engineer Willis Haviland Carrier in 1902 as a means of solving humidity issues at a printing facility in Buffalo, New York.
However, the concept of air conditioning began much earlier in ancient Egypt. In order to cool rooms in the hot Egyptian sun, they would wet mats and hang them in doorways. Much like modern air conditioning, the evaporating water would cool rooms and add humidity in the dry Egyptian desert. The Romans also used a primitive version of air conditioning which involved running cool water through pipes underneath homes.
Even after Willis Carrier’s invention, air conditioning did not appear in homes and other businesses until 1925. This is because his first invention was designed purely for controlling humidity for the printing plant and it wasn’t until 1922, and Carrier’s invention of the centrifugal chiller which significantly reduced unit sizes, those air conditioning units were ready to become commercially available.