Residential Central A/c

[ScarabChris]

I'm stiitng around the house today and I'm watching Frost Nixon. This movie obviously takes place in the 70s. When watching movies I like to try to find bloopers, its usually easy when a movie takes place decades before it was filmed.

In the house used for the interviews I saw a central AC unit outside. Was central AC available to private homes in the mid 70s? I was born in 1974 and I know we didn't have central air until 1985 when my father built a new house. I remember him saying how nice it was going to be to have central air instead of a window shaker in every room.

[Boz]

Chris, it's been around longer than you might think. Did a little "Googling" and found this on http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3854

1931 "Hot- Kold" year-round central air-conditioning system for homes on the market

Frigidaire markets the "Hot- Kold" year-round central air-conditioning system for homes. During the early 1930s, a number of manufacturers design central air conditioners for homes, a market that grows slowly until the 1960s, when lower costs make it affordable for many new homes.

As that mentions, it seems that central A/C really hit the ground running in the 60's. I know when I was shopping for my first home in the late 60's, it was a feature found in most new homes, but only perhaps 10% of older homes on the market had been retrofitted with it.

I know that I can't imagine living without it now, here in the Sunshine State.

[cataholic]

Damn you guys are making me feel old. I bought my first house in 1978 and it had central air. Was not a new thing by any means then. In fact the unit on that house was fairly old.

[ScarabChris]

Cool...thanks for the edumacation. I thought it might have been around prior to the mid 70s. But this unit in the movie looked exactly like they do now. I guess they have had no reason to change the way the outside units look.

[CaptWill]

I had a friend that installed central air in his house, sometime back in the 1960's. I think it was a Fedders. Maybe some of the manufacturer website will tell how long they have been making them. I would guess it goes back quite a bit further than that, at least with some companys, like Lennox.

[autobaun70]

my mom growing up was never without a/c, she was born in 56'. At the time they were the only people in the entire neighborhood who had a/c though, one of the small benifits of my granddad being in the heating & air business.

[v70cat]

I remember when color TV was new

[DJWILLIAMS]

I can imagine that you guys in Florida don't use heat much correct?

David

[Boz]

I can imagine that you guys in Florida don't use heat much correct?

David

I think we ran ours a whole 4 or 5 days this past winter, but only when it got downright frigid. Like below 60.

[ScarabChris]

Yeah I put the heat on maybe 3 times this winter. But I keep the house at 70 all the time anyway so its that summer electric bill that kills me.