The evolution of automotive air conditioning

1880-1930

This period marks the transition from horse-drawn carriages to the automobile. At the outset, coachmen's clothing was a necessity for motorists during the winter months. When the internal-combustion engine was created, the cooling system included a front-mounted radiator, ventilated by the speed of the vehicle and the thermosiphon circulation of the water/glycol mixture. The cooling system on the Ford T ( http://model-a-ford.org ) features forced ventilation of the radiator by a pulley-belt system connected to the engine.

To make use of the engine's heat losses, some had the idea of diverting the hot air present under the hood into the passenger compartment via ducts, others of "superheating"...