HVAC Fun Facts That Will Surprise You

“Fun” doesn’t usually come to mind when thinking of ventilation, heating, or cooling. Stemming from this, after reading the following list you will know how much fun air conditioners can actually be in your Bay Area business or home. These fun facts are cool enough to make you hot!

Fun Fact 1: Energy Saving

Total residential energy usage can be reduced by 2% if all the electrical resistant heating systems in the country were replaced by heat pumps that came with ductless cooling systems.

Fun Fact 2: Most Consumption

The average American household is said to spend $2,200 on energy consumption each year. However, this differs significantly by home size and area. Almost 48% of these costs are towards heating and cooling. Cooling takes up 6% of the total energy budget of an average family while heating accounts for 42% and all this is coming to the head because of inflation and high gas prices.

Fun Fact 3: Smaller Carbon Footprint

40.4 million BTUs is used by the average American household for heating as compared to only 9.3 million BTUs for cooling. Contrary to popular belief, cooling has a smaller carbon footprint as compared to heating in any given year.

Fun Fact 4: Holiest of the Holy

The larges HVAC system is installed in the Saudi Arabia at the Holy Mosque in Makkah (Mecca). The space sees up to a million visitors in a month. The system needs to cool this space in a climate that sees 100 degrees most days of the year. The HVAC system has a refrigeration capacity of 135,000 tons.

Fun Fact 5: Summer Blockbusters

The term “summer blockbuster” comes from air-conditioned movie theaters. People would often visit the theaters in the summer to enjoy the air conditioning. Production companies noticed this and started releasing their biggest hits during this time to take advantage of the fact. The tradition continues even today even though most homeowners have cooling at their homes and don’t really need to seek refuge at the theaters.

Fun Fact 6: Charles Gate Mansion

The first ever residential air conditioning system in the United States was installed in the Charles Gates mansion. This Minneapolis mansion was built in the 1913 and demolished in 1933. Surprisingly, once the original owner died, no one could afford or wanted to buy a 38,000 square feet palatial home with air conditioning.

Fun Fact 7: First Commercial Cooling System

This fact is highly debated, but most experts believe that the world’s first commercial cooling system was created by Ting Huan in 180 AD. This is a famous inventor from the Han dynasty. There were seven 10-foot diameter wheels in the fan that was cranked by a single person. The system could easily cool a large hall.

Fun Fact 8: Humidity Makes it Hotter

Homes that have low humidity levels usually feel cooler as compared to homes that have high humidity. Dry air makes the moisture on your skin evaporate quickly, which helps you cool down.

Fun Fact 9: Low Death Rates

Did you know that air conditioning actually saves lives? Suicide rates increase when there is a heat wave as per an analysis of suicides in Mississippi. Also, people are at a higher risk of succumbing to heat stroke and related concerns when they don’t have access to cooling. In 1995, 739 people died because of a heat wave since they did not have an air conditioner.