Evening star., 1934-12-01
Air Conditioning
Interest of Public Shows
Faith in New Method
of Control.
BY LAWRENCE TUCKER.


If you should stop most any person
on the street and ask him what he
thought about air conditioning his
answer would more than likely be, I
think air conditioning is the next big
business and a good thing"
The fact that this strange art OF
manufacturing weather is going to be
the next big business" should be OF
interest to every one. not only because
its ultimate effect will be felt by every
one in a climatic way, but it will no
doubt help pull this country out OF
what remains of depression.
Almost every large manufacturer
has turned or is turning to air con-
ditioning equipment to reopen plants
and boost balance sheets to former
levels. Engineering men in every part
of the country are searching for new
ideas to sell the public and millions
of dollars are being spent in adver-
tising and sales promotion. In other
words, every one is firmly convinced
that air conditioning is going to sweep
the country in much the same way it
was swept by automobiles and radio.
Possibly the only difficulty that the
more optimistic souls will encounter
is the fact that air conditioning is
slightly more of an engineering than
it is a merchandising problem. The
elements that are involved in solving
an air conditioning problem do not
vary in any fixed relation to one an
other, hence one solution might not
: apply to any other. On the other
hand, American ingenuity delights in
doing the unexpected and we will no
doubt be surprised by the products of
the imaginations of the massed forces
of industry.
Even now, with the air conditioning
business practically in its infancy, We
are beginning to see the results OF
the great new interest that has been
aroused. People are talking about it
at parties and gatherings of all sorts;
women are discussing 1t over their
bridge tables: in fact, a noted charm
expert recently stated that air con-
ditioning ranks with aviation, the next
war, revolution and communism as
one of the topics most often discussed.
The young men from the colleges
are being urged to 60 into the air.
conditioning business because it
probably offers the greatest field of
endeavor since the bond houses ceased
taking in graduating classes. There
will be a great deal of money made
in the next few years, but there
| will also be lots of mistakes made and
money lost. In fact, at the present
time there are hundreds of COM
| panies manufacturing and selling
equipment, but it will be only mat
ter of time before many of them
will be forced out of business in much
the same manner as hundreds of
automobile, radio, refrigerator and
oil burner companies have failed.
The scoffers are hard at it. as they
always have been with every new inven-
tion. They are saying the whole thing is
an impractical idea, an unnecessary
luxury. and that people who live in
air-conditioned spaces are even apt
to be unhealthy. OF course, they
scoff, but the increased patronage
shown by theaters during the Sum-
mer months, the jammed restau-
rants and the increasing number of
Office buildings using air condition
ing to insure rentals, all paint much
roster picture.
The most tremendous market will
open up, of course, when the public
/, has become more completely ac-
quainted with the year-around ad-
vantages of air conditioning. They
| will then begin to demand it for
their homes just as they now de-
mand automatic heat and refrigera-
ton. A constant temperature of 10
degrees or thereabouts will be uni
versally required. together with the
exact amount of humidity, proper
cleanliness and possibly the addition
of ozone or some other reactivating
agent. That day is not far distant
| and we would do well to learn more
of the details involved in obtaining
those conditions.
| Next Saturday this column will
present the first of a series of articles
that will endeavor to acuuaint the
reader with the types of equipment
available at the present time, and
if there are any questions arising
relative to air conditioning we will
be glad to answer them.