At 75, Carrier's centrifugal chiller
is in greater demand than ever before for large applications. Today's manufacturers
need even more precise climate control for a new generation of mass-produced products.
These hard-working chillers support everything from computer chips to poker chips
to fish 'n' chips. Large universities, museums and hospitals the world over now take
air conditioned classrooms, exhibit rooms and operating rooms for granted. Massive
climate-controlled computer centers process much of the world's data. The centrifugal
"refrigeration machine" is, indeed, the workhorse of the HVAC industry.

Willis Carrier's idea has been
carried forward by new generations of engineers facing new problems. Non-ozone-depleting
refrigerants have been adapted to protect the environment. Modern centrifugal units
can be split in half and reconnected on site to make product replacements in tight
quarters easier. Service diagnostics continue to improve. Imaginative applications
provide ongoing engineering challenges, from configuring cooling for the Tower of
Terror in Disney World, Florida, to underground mass transit stations that accommodate
thousands of Hong Kong's daily commuters.

A global economy has brought the
need for efficient distribution of the time-tested chiller to developing population
centers with tropical climates. Luxury hotels, exhibition halls, high-tech factories
and office towers of all shapes and sizes are rising up in prospering Asian countries
such as Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia and India. Latin American countries
like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina also are experiencing a new wave of large commercial
construction projects.
But, there
are always more customers to satisfy. Improved energy efficiency, lighter and smaller
models and advanced electronic controls are bringing new technologies to a timeless
idea.
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Centrally located centrifugal units today cool
vast government centers like China's Great Hall of the People (above), downtown business
districts like the Chicago Loop, and places of pure fantasy, such as Tokyo Disneyland
(below).

Willis Carrier designed theater air conditioning
(below) so unobtrusive that the actors were the only focus of attention.

The U.S. Congress (below) soon decided if needed
Carrier's refrigeration to cool down heated debates over prohibition.
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