Learn about the history of the window air conditioner.
The term "air conditioning" was first used by American physicist Stuart W. Cramer in 1907 - years before a practical air conditioning system was invented. The American inventor Willis Carrier (1876-1950) invented air conditioning in 1911, and commercial air conditioners were produced in 1914.
A patent request was filed in 1931 by H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman for an air conditioner to be placed on window ledges. Room air conditioners were available for home use in 1932, but economic constraints arising from the depression and World War II, together with the uneven spread of electrical power distribution systems, prevented widespread use until after the war.