The Business of Air Conditioning | 163

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Business of Air Conditioning"

Podcast: Down to Business English
Episode: 163
Host(s): Skip Montreux (Tokyo) & Des Morgan (Abu Dhabi)
Date: July 18, 2019

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the history, technological evolution, and enormous business impact of air conditioning—exploring how it's become an essential part of modern infrastructure worldwide. Skip and Des discuss why AC is more than a simple convenience, its surprising industrial origins, the environmental challenges it presents, and new innovations aimed at more efficient cooling.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Experiences with Air Conditioning

• Des shares what it's like living in the UAE, where AC is an absolute necessity due to extreme heat.
• Skip comments on how, even in humid Japanese summers, life without AC quickly becomes intolerable.

  "Over here, AC is not a luxury, it's a necessity." – Des Morgan [01:28]
  "I certainly take AC for granted." – Skip Montreux [01:44]

2. Air Conditioning as Critical Infrastructure & Big Business

• AC is more than comfort—it’s a core part of the infrastructure in many global regions.
• High energy consumption leads to substantial electricity bills, especially in summer.

3. The Origins and Invention of Air Conditioning

• The hosts explore early cooling methods (e.g., Egyptians dripping water through reeds) and ancient systems like those at Agra Fort.
• The modern, electric air conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier in 1902 in Buffalo, NY.

  "The modern AC was invented in 1902 by Willis Carrier in Buffalo, New York." – Skip Montreux [04:31]

• Carrier’s invention was built on earlier scientific principles, such as:
  • Benjamin Franklin's 1758 experiments with evaporation cooling
  • Michael Faraday's discovery of using compressed liquid to chill air
• The first use of AC was not for people, but for industrial purposes—most notably, to control humidity for printing companies.

  "Surprisingly, AC wasn't initially used for making people comfortable, but rather was developed for the printing industry." – Skip Montreux [06:07]

4. Industrial Applications Before Personal Comfort

• Printing, flour mills, and razor blade manufacturing were among the first industries to adopt AC due to their sensitivity to humidity.

5. Climate Change and Growing Demand

• The planet is getting hotter: 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001 [08:00].
• According to the IEA, energy used by ACs is likely to triple by 2050, eventually consuming as much as the current total capacity of the US, EU, and Japan combined [08:28].

  "World demand for air conditioning has gone through the roof and shows no signs of slowing down either." – Des Morgan [08:04]
  "That sounds even worse." – Skip Montreux [08:53]

6. Technological Innovations for Efficiency

• Newer buildings and modern AC systems made Des’s electric bill much lower; improved efficiency is part of the reason [09:03].
• Stanford University’s reflective panels can pre-cool water for higher AC unit efficiency—a company called Skycool Systems is commercializing this [09:30–10:10].
• Samsung's “Wind Free” technology keeps rooms comfortable without running energy-hungry fans [10:21].
• Inverter-equipped air conditioners adjust fan speed for higher efficiency, though such units are expensive ("upmarket") [10:42–10:59].

7. The “Internet of Things” and Smart Cooling

• Smart thermostats (e.g., Tado) can control your AC via an app, automatically adjusting settings based on room occupancy and weather forecasts [11:15–11:57].

  "There are many advantages to this. Firstly, it can sense when you leave the room and turn the AC down or even off." – Des Morgan [11:30]
  "Oh, I often forget to turn the AC off when I go out. That would certainly save me some money." – Skip Montreux [11:38]

8. Social & Economic Impact: AC Manufacturing in the US

• The Carrier Air Conditioner plant in Indiana—named after Willis Carrier—has high absenteeism & low morale due to company plans to move jobs to Mexico, despite promises from President Trump to “save” them [12:48–14:01].

  "All of the noise Trump made about saving their jobs was just that—noise." – Skip Montreux [13:47]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Over here, AC is not a luxury, it's a necessity."
  – Des Morgan [01:28]
• "The modern AC was invented in 1902 by Willis Carrier in Buffalo, New York."
  – Skip Montreux [04:31]
• "Surprisingly, AC wasn't initially used for making people comfortable, but rather was developed for the printing industry."
  – Skip Montreux [06:07]
• "World demand for air conditioning has gone through the roof and shows no signs of slowing down either."
  – Des Morgan [08:04]
• "The challenge then, is for engineers to make air conditioners more efficient."
  – Des Morgan [08:56]
• "All of the noise Trump made about saving their jobs was just that—noise."
  – Skip Montreux [13:47]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:51–02:21 – Introduction to the personal necessity of AC in Abu Dhabi vs. Japan
• 03:12–05:58 – Air conditioning: from ancient methods to Willis Carrier's modern invention
• 06:07–07:26 – Industrial use and first beneficiaries of AC tech
• 08:00–08:53 – Global warming, IEA stats, and looming electricity demands
• 09:01–10:21 – Technological developments for energy efficiency
• 11:15–11:57 – Smart thermostats and internet-connected AC units
• 12:48–14:01 – Social/economic story of Carrier plant in Indiana

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Language & Tone

The conversation remains light, engaging, and occasionally humorous, with a focus on clear, accessible explanations and banter:

• Playful debate over who invented AC, from ancient Egypt to Benjamin Franklin [03:19–04:31].
• Jokes about forgetting to turn off the AC before podcast recordings [11:57–12:15].
• A bit of political commentary regarding broken promises at the Carrier plant [13:24–14:01].

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Summary Conclusion

Skip and Des effectively “get down to business” on air conditioning, walking listeners through its fascinating history, central role in modern life, and rapidly evolving technology in the face of climate change. The challenges of growing demand, environmental impact, and workplace shifts in the global AC industry are discussed alongside practical solutions, like smart thermostats and new cooling technologies, all in a conversational and informative style.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

From Tokyo, Japan and Abu Dhabi, uae, this is down to Business English Business News to improve your business English with your hosts, Skip Montreux and Des Morgan.

[Skip Montreux]

Good to be talking with you again, Des. How is everything with you?

[Des Morgan]

Well, I'm down to my final two weeks in Abu Dhabi.

[Skip Montreux]

Ah, that's right. You are leaving the UAE and heading back to the uk. How many years has it been for you over there?

[Des Morgan]

It feels like forever, but in actual fact, I've lived here for eight years.

[Skip Montreux]

Hmm. That is half as long as you were in Japan.

[Des Morgan]

That's right.

[Skip Montreux]

Is there anything you want to do before leaving the country?

[Des Morgan]

Yes, but it's really still too hot to do anything outdoors.

[Skip Montreux]

The temperature has always been an issue for you over there. Here it is getting into the mid-30s, hot and humid, but we can still function outdoors.

[Des Morgan]

But even in Japan though, you can't spend that long outside. You need to travel from one air conditioned place to another in the summer, right?

[Skip Montreux]

Yeah, that's right. And if the air conditioning in your home or office breaks down, watch out. Life becomes pretty hot and sweaty pretty quickly.

[Des Morgan]

If it breaks down here, you'd have to move into a hotel for a few days. There's no way you could live without air conditioning.

[Skip Montreux]

That is hard for me to imagine.

[Des Morgan]

When I lived in Japan, I thought it was hot, but the heat over here is unbelievable. I often wonder what it was like living in the Middle east in the age before air conditioners. Like I said, over here, AC is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, here in Japan, sure, it would be very uncomfortable to get through the summer without ac. Not as bad as the uae, but pretty bad. I don't know about you, Des, but I certainly take AC for granted.

[Des Morgan]

Well, it's easy enough to do, but if you stop and think about it, air conditioning is a huge part of the infrastructure of many places in the world.

[Skip Montreux]

Which means it is also a huge business sector.

[Des Morgan]

Absolutely.

[Skip Montreux]

My electricity bill skyrockets in the summer. I can only assume that your bill must be astronomical in Abu Dhabi.

[Des Morgan]

Well, electricity can get pricey if you have a big house, but not so bad as I don't. It's a good thing that energy costs are as reasonable as they are because otherwise AC would be prohibitively expensive. But you're right, we often don't pay much attention to air conditioning, when in fact, it's actually quite an interesting business

[Skip Montreux]

and it makes for a good topic today.

[Des Morgan]

I agree.

[Skip Montreux]

So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with the Business of air conditioning. What is the history of this modern marvel? And what effect is air conditioning having on the world?

[Des Morgan]

So, skip, I bet you that most people don't even know who invented air conditioning, do you?

[Skip Montreux]

I do, actually. It was the ancient Egyptians.

[Des Morgan]

The Egyptians, what?

[Skip Montreux]

Yeah, in ancient Egypt, they would commonly hang reeds in the windows of their buildings and then slowly drip cold water on the reeds. As the water evaporated, the wind would blow cool, humid air into the building.

[Des Morgan]

That reminds me of Agra Fort, which overlooks the Taj Mahal. It had an ancient air conditioning system where cold water flowed between an inner wall and an outer wall to cool the building in the daytime. However, these examples don't really answer my question. I asked who invented the modern air conditioning that we use today?

[Skip Montreux]

Well, that would be when the ancient Romans started going into.

[Des Morgan]

No, no, no, not ancient Roman air conditioning. Modern. Who invented the electric AC that is hanging on the wall in your apartment right now?

[Skip Montreux]

Oh, you mean the modern electric air conditioner? Who invented that technology?

[Des Morgan]

Yes, who invented that?

[Skip Montreux]

Why didn't you say so Sooner? The modern AC was invented in 1902 by Willis Carrier in Buffalo, New York.

[Des Morgan]

Finally.

[Skip Montreux]

However, although Mr. Carrier is known for inventing the air conditioner, he based his invention on earlier developments that were made by some pretty famous scientists.

[Des Morgan]

Famous scientists such as?

[Skip Montreux]

Well, none other than the famous polymath and one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin.

[Des Morgan]

Is that right?

[Skip Montreux]

Yes. Back in 1758, Franklin conducted an experiment where the evaporation of a volatile liquid was used to drive down the temperature of the surrounding air as the liquid evaporated.

[Des Morgan]

Ah, I guess that's why alcohol feels cold if you spill it on your hand.

[Skip Montreux]

Sure, alcohol is a volatile liquid, but it's probably best not to spill any of your whiskey, Des.

[Des Morgan]

Well, I try not to.

[Skip Montreux]

The next development in AC technology was when the English scientist and inventor Michael Faraday discovered that compressed liquid could be used to chill air when it was allowed to evaporate. Carrier put both of these ideas together and created what we now know as modern air conditioning.

[Des Morgan]

It must have been a strange sensation to be one of the first people to sit in an air conditioned office knowing that it was much hotter outside.

[Skip Montreux]

Surprisingly, AC wasn't initially used for making people comfortable, but rather was developed for the printing industry.

[Des Morgan]

I didn't know that paper was quite so fussy about heat.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, maybe not about heat, but certainly it was fussy about humidity.

[Des Morgan]

Of course, moisture and paper are not a good combination.

[Skip Montreux]

The Sackett and Wilhelms printing company In Buffalo, New York, contacted a heating company to try and solve their humidity problem.

[Des Morgan]

And let me guess. Willis Carrier worked at that company.

[Skip Montreux]

He did, and he discovered that circulating air over coils that were chilled by compressed ammonia maintained the humidity at a constant 55%.

[Des Morgan]

And in addition to reducing the humidity, it also cooled the air as well.

[Skip Montreux]

That it did. But the first applications were for industrial processes that were very sensitive to humidity,

[Des Morgan]

like the printing industry. What other industries needed air conditioning?

[Skip Montreux]

Flour mills. As you can imagine, damp flour is very difficult to process. And also Gillette, the company that makes razor blades for shaving. They found their blades quickly rusted if the atmosphere was too humid.

[Des Morgan]

Very interesting. I had no idea that the initial impetus for air conditioning was for industrial processes, not human comfort.

[Skip Montreux]

It is interesting, isn't it?

[Des Morgan]

So that's a little of the history of air conditioners. Let's talk more about changes in air conditioning over the years.

[Skip Montreux]

Come on, Des. Japan has had air conditioning since the 1950s. I'm not sure how much it has really changed.

[Des Morgan]

Well, the climate's changed. That's why they call it climate change, after all.

[Skip Montreux]

Very clever.

[Des Morgan]

Get this. According to climatologists, 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. So, as you can imagine, world demand for air conditioning has gone through the roof and shows no signs of slowing down either. As a matter of fact, the energy consumed by air conditioning is likely to triple between now and 2050. Wow.

[Skip Montreux]

Where did you get that statistic?

[Des Morgan]

That's what the iea, the International Energy Agency, says.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, that doesn't sound very good.

[Des Morgan]

Not at all. And to put that into perspective, it would mean that by 2050, the world's air conditioners would be using the current electricity capacity of the U.S. the European Union, and Japan combined.

[Skip Montreux]

That sounds equal. Even worse.

[Des Morgan]

The challenge then, is for engineers to make air conditioners more efficient.

[Skip Montreux]

I would hope so.

[Des Morgan]

On a personal note, when we lived in a really old house here in Abu Dhabi, the cost of running the air conditioning was three times what it cost in our newer apartment. Some of that is because the new place is smaller, but some of that reduction must have been due to improvements in efficiency.

[Skip Montreux]

Your newer apartment has a newer air conditioner, I suppose?

[Des Morgan]

Yeah, it does.

[Skip Montreux]

How are they making air conditioners more efficient?

[Des Morgan]

Researchers at Stanford University have found that panels covered in highly reflective material can be used to cool water to a few degrees less than the outside temperature.

[Skip Montreux]

And is that a significant development?

[Des Morgan]

It would probably not be enough to cool a building, at least not in very hot Countries. However, if the air intake into a conventional air conditioner passed through these cooled water pipes, then efficiency of that unit could be improved by 30 to 50%.

[Skip Montreux]

That sounds promising. Is this technology only at the experimental stage?

[Des Morgan]

No. The researchers set up a company called Skycool Systems to try and commercialize the process.

[Skip Montreux]

Lets hope they are able to bring it to the marketplace sooner rather than later.

[Des Morgan]

However, there are new technologies that improve the efficiency of air conditioning that are currently on the market. Samsung has developed a technology called wind Free that gently pushes air around a room once the desired temperature has been reached.

[Skip Montreux]

So no need for an energy hungry circulation fan.

[Des Morgan]

Exactly. At a simpler level, many of the latest air conditioners use an inverter that adjusts the strength of the fan, slowing it down when the desired temperature has been reached.

[Skip Montreux]

Air conditioners with inverters are pretty upmarket though.

[Des Morgan]

Yes, they are pretty expensive. And buyers in most developing countries just want the cheapest unit they can get.

[Skip Montreux]

Which of course is understandable.

[Des Morgan]

True, but technology may be able to help here as well though.

[Skip Montreux]

Really? How is that?

[Des Morgan]

There's a thermostat that you can buy with a smart app that you can run on your phone. It's made by a company called Tado and it connects your AC to the Internet.

[Skip Montreux]

Of course, the Internet of things.

[Des Morgan]

There are many advantages to this. Firstly, it can sense when you leave the room and turn the AC down or even off.

[Skip Montreux]

Oh, I often forget to turn the AC off when I go out. That would certainly save me some money.

[Des Morgan]

Secondly, it can adjust the temperature based on the weather forecast so the room would never be too cold wasting energy till you adjust it. I'm sure there are similar apps available in Japan.

[Skip Montreux]

I will have to look into that. I wonder if there is an app that can sense when we press record when we make this podcast. How many times have we forgotten to turn off the AC when we record a show together and have ended up with a noisy fan going off in the background?

[Des Morgan]

Yeah, that would be useful, but as you know, just turning the AC off while we are recording it can get unbearably hot over here.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, before we move on to vocabulary, I would like to mention a connection with something I recently read in the New York Times. Well, I read it recently, but the article was actually from 2018. Des, I have a question for you. Which factory in North America do you think has some of the highest rates of absenteeism and the lowest morale?

[Des Morgan]

I have no idea, but as it's connected with the story, I'm guessing it's an air conditioning factory.

[Skip Montreux]

Well done. It is none other than the Carrier air conditioner plant in Indiana.

[Des Morgan]

Named after Willis Carrier, the inventor of air conditioning.

[Skip Montreux]

That's right. Now let me ask you this. Why do you think morale is so low?

[Des Morgan]

Carrier doesn't pay very well.

[Skip Montreux]

No. The salaries are comparable to other AC companies.

[Des Morgan]

Long working hours.

[Skip Montreux]

Again, comparable to other factory situations.

[Des Morgan]

Then I give up.

[Skip Montreux]

President Trump.

[Des Morgan]

President Trump. What does he have to do with the morale at the Carrier plant?

[Skip Montreux]

Well, it was this factory that was going to be moved to Mexico in 2017, and the then newly elected president stepped in to save the employees jobs.

[Des Morgan]

Okay. You would have thought they would be happy about that.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, initially they were, but as it turned out, the company is still planning to move most of the jobs to Mexico. So all of the noise Trump made about saving their jobs was just that noise.

[Des Morgan]

That is twice recently that Donald Trump has worked his way into our report. It's funny how that happens.

[Skip Montreux]

It is. Well, before you melt away with no AC running over there in Abu Dhabi, I think it is now time for us to get D2V down to vocabulary,

[Narrator]

Down to business English audio scripts are a great learning tool. Be sure to visit the D2B website and download your free audio script of today's podcast, DowntoBusinessEnglish.com. that's www.downtobusinessenglish.com.

[Des Morgan]

Skip, you are a man of many talents, aren't you?

[Skip Montreux]

I would like to think so. I'm a teacher, podcaster, poker player, and, well, all around great guy. Does that qualify me as a polymath?

[Des Morgan]

I'm not sure, but our first word is polymath, which means skilled in many different areas. In the story, Skip spoke about Benjamin Franklin, who was most certainly a polymath. He was an inventor, a business tycoon, a writer, and as we all know, a politician. As for you, Skip, I'm not sure if you. If you're truly a polymath. Sorry.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, maybe not. Compared with Ben Franklin, the word polymath

[Des Morgan]

may not be often used in business conversation. But if you ever wanted to praise your boss, tell him that you think he's a polymath. Who knows? He might give you a raise. Hey, it's worth a try.

[Skip Montreux]

I'm sure my boss would not know what it means. I would now like to talk about the verb to evaporate. When a substance evaporates, it changes from liquid form to a gas. As we all know, water evaporates if it sits too long in the sun.

[Des Morgan]

Nothing would ever dry if it didn't

[Skip Montreux]

in the story, Des spoke about how a compressed liquid can be used to cool the surrounding area when it evaporates.

[Des Morgan]

That is the literal meaning of evaporate, but it's often used to mean when something disappears without you noticing. Money evaporates out of my wallet when I spend any time in London, for example.

[Skip Montreux]

You know, good ideas evaporate out of my head when I'm under stress.

[Des Morgan]

Oh, me too. Next, we have the verb phrase to put something into perspective, which means to make a comparison that shows the true extent of something. In the story, I showed just how much electricity would be used by the world's air conditioners by putting the amount into the perspective of how many countries use the same amount of energy.

[Skip Montreux]

In my office, we have been thinking of upgrading some of the software that we use. Although it will be quite a large expense. When you put it into the perspective of how much time everyone will save, it really doesn't seem so bad.

[Des Morgan]

Hey, that's a good example.

[Skip Montreux]

Now I would like to talk about the verb to commercialize. When you commercialize something, you take an idea or invention and try to make money from it by getting people to pay for it.

[Des Morgan]

In the story, I spoke about how skycool Systems was seeking to commercialize their invention by selling it to property developers or air conditioning manufacturers.

[Skip Montreux]

And in the early days of the Internet, people wondered how companies like Google were going to commercialize their dominance in the search engine business.

[Des Morgan]

Well, we now know it's by selling personal data and those endless adverts.

[Skip Montreux]

Now, now we don't know for certain that they are selling our personal data.

[Des Morgan]

Of course they are. But anyway, let me finish today with the adjective upmarket, which means the high end or luxury end of the market.

[Skip Montreux]

In the story, Des reported how air conditioners with an inverter were more expensive or up market than basic AC models.

[Des Morgan]

The opposite of upmarket is of course, down market. In the UK we have a really down market newspaper called the sun, which is more concerned with celebrity gossip than with any real news.

[Skip Montreux]

Fortunately, there's nothing down market. About our podcast.

[Narrator]

Would you like to support down to Business English? Be sure to visit the D2B page in iTunes and subscribe to this show. While you are there, why don't you leave a rating and a comment? This will help D2B reach more people wanting to improve their business English skills. Down to Business English Business news to improve your business English.

[Skip Montreux]

And that brings us to the end of another episode of down to Business English.

[Des Morgan]

Yes, it does. And even though it's been Great talking with you, Skip. I'm ready to crank my AC and cool this place down.

[Skip Montreux]

Well, I won't keep you too much longer. I just want to remind listeners to sign up for a D2B membership.

[Des Morgan]

Oh yes, we can't forget to do that. If you find listening to down to Business English useful in your English studies, we highly Recommend Becoming a D2B member.

[Skip Montreux]

Absolutely. Each membership includes members only podcasts, access to our entire audioscript library, and instant delivery of audio scripts to newly released episodes.

[Des Morgan]

And not only do you get all of that, your membership helps us to produce more D2B language learning content.

[Skip Montreux]

That's right. The more members we have, the more episodes of D2B and other English learning products we can produce.

[Des Morgan]

How does one become a D2B member?

[Skip Montreux]

Simple. Just visit the down to Business English website@downto businessenglish.com, click on the membership link at the top of the page and choose the plan that best fits your budget.

[Des Morgan]

One more time, that's down to businessenglish.com

[Skip Montreux]

thanks for listening everyone. See you next time. Bye bye.

[Narrator]

Have a comment or question about today's show? Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or the Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip Des or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply. Want to get even more down to Business English? Sign up for the D2B Newsletter and receive updates on some of the stories covered on down to business English. That's www.downtobusinessenglish.com down to business English Business News to improve your business English.