These air conditioning trivia questions cover the history and the vocabulary: cooling before electricity, the engineer behind the system of 1902, the spread into mills, homes and cars, and the parts of the cycle.
Read the full guide
Heating and cooling trivia questions
How it works and the words of the trade asks what a condenser, an evaporator and a reversing valve do, and what HVAC and SEER stand for. Cooling before electricity goes back to Franklin, Faraday and a Florida doctor who made ice.
Carrier and after
Willis Carrier follows the engineer from the drawings of 1902 to a pavilion shaped like an igloo. Into mills, homes and cars has the first air-conditioned home, the window unit and a Texas village with a scorpion problem.
For a trade class, start with How it works and the words of the trade, then add a history round.
Questions and answers
Who invented air conditioning?
Willis Carrier, an American engineer, designed what is widely regarded as the first modern electrical air-conditioning system in 1902. It controlled humidity as well as temperature, which is why that installation is called the birth of air conditioning.
Are these HVAC trivia questions about repairs?
No. They are history and vocabulary: who built what and when, and what the parts and the abbreviations mean. Nothing here is repair, installation or safety advice.
What are some easy air conditioning trivia questions?
What do the letters HVAC stand for? What does air conditioning remove from an enclosed space? What shape was the air conditioning pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair? The answers are heating, ventilation and air conditioning; heat; and an igloo.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article linked under it: Air conditioning; Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; or Willis Carrier. No maker's brand is an answer or a choice.
Double-walled living quarters, with a gap between the walls to let air flow, were found in the ancient city of Hamoukar. In which modern country is it?Answer: Syria. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Early cooling systems chilled a second liquid called brine. What is brine?Answer: Salt water. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
How cold did the thermometer bulb get in the experiment of 1758, on a day of 64 °F?Answer: 7 °F. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
How far did John Gorrie imagine air conditioning might one day reach?Answer: It could cool entire cities. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
How much ice a day did the refrigeration system that James Harrison patented in 1855 produce?Answer: Three tons. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1558 Giambattista della Porta described how to chill ice far below its freezing point. With what did he mix it?Answer: Potassium nitrate. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1620 Cornelis Drebbel showed a trick he called Turning Summer into Winter. For which king?Answer: James I of England. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1758, which American and a Cambridge chemistry professor used evaporation to cool an object quickly?Answer: Benjamin Franklin. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1820 Michael Faraday found that compressing and liquefying which substance could chill air?Answer: Ammonia. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1842 John Gorrie made ice with a compressor to cool the air for his patients. In which state was his hospital?Answer: Florida. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1894 the Hungarian engineer István Röck began making ammonia compressors driven by what?Answer: Electric motors. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In the evaporation experiment of 1758, what was used to speed up the evaporation?Answer: A bellows. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In the Tang dynasty, what powered the fan wheels of the Cool Hall in the imperial palace?Answer: Water. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which country did James Harrison build the first mechanical ice-making machine, in 1851?Answer: Australia. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Until which century did passive cooling techniques remain widespread, before powered air conditioning replaced them?Answer: The 20th century. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Which building did Cornelis Drebbel partly chill in his demonstration of 1620?Answer: Westminster Abbey. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Willis Carrier 17
A discovery Carrier made in 1906 became known among engineers as the law of constant what?Answer: Dew-point depression. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
Air conditioning must do four basic things: control temperature, control humidity, control air circulation and ventilation, and what?Answer: Cleanse the air. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
At which university did Willis Carrier earn a Master of Engineering degree in 1901?Answer: Cornell University. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
The drawings for the pioneering cooling installation of 1902 were submitted in Buffalo on which summer day?Answer: July 17. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
In 1915, how many young engineers pooled their life savings to start an air conditioning business with Carrier among them?Answer: Seven. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
In the color printing that Carrier was asked to help, how many times might one sheet of paper run through the press?Answer: Up to four. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
In which decade did air conditioning begin its tremendous growth in popularity?Answer: The 1950s. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
In which New York town was Willis Carrier born on November 26, 1876?Answer: Angola. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
The installation of 1902 is called the birth of air conditioning because it added the control of what?Answer: Humidity. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
Into which hall of fame was Willis Carrier inducted in 1985?Answer: The National Inventors Hall of Fame. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
The paper Carrier presented on December 3, 1911 became known as the Magna Carta of what?Answer: Psychrometrics. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
To which New York city did Carrier move his company in 1937?Answer: Syracuse. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
To which society did Carrier present his paper of 1911?Answer: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
What did the humid summer air do to the paper at the plant that asked Carrier for help?Answer: It made the paper grow and shrink. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
What was the shape of the pavilion that showed air conditioning at the 1939 New York World's Fair?Answer: An igloo. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
What was the title of the patent Carrier was granted on January 2, 1906?Answer: Apparatus for Treating Air. Source: Wikipedia: Willis Carrier
Which American engineer designed what is widely regarded as the first modern electrical air-conditioning system, in 1902?Answer: Willis Carrier. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Into mills, homes and cars 14
Every family in the air-conditioned village of 1954 reported being troubled by which animals?Answer: Scorpions. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Henry Galson developed a smaller, cheaper window air conditioner. How many had been sold by 1947?Answer: More than 43,000. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Historians rank air conditioning with highways, automobiles, suburban housing and what else as a key factor in the growth of cities after the war?Answer: Shopping malls. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
How many homes were built in the air-conditioned village of 1954?Answer: 22. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1906 a spray-type air conditioning system went into a cotton mill, the first such system in the Southern United States. In which state?Answer: North Carolina. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In 1945 Robert Sherman of Lynn, Massachusetts, invented a portable air conditioner. Where in a room did it sit?Answer: In a window. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which city was the first domestic air conditioning installed, in 1914?Answer: Minneapolis. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which country was the first mini-split air conditioning system sold, in 1961?Answer: Japan. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which Texas city was an experimental neighborhood built in 1954 with air conditioning in every house?Answer: Austin. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which year did a car maker first offer an air conditioning unit in its cars?Answer: 1939. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which year did a school first offer training in heating, ventilation and air conditioning?Answer: 1899. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
The study of the air-conditioned village found that mothers did more of what?Answer: Baking. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
When were the first inverter air conditioners released?Answer: 1980 to 1981. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Who designed the first comfort air conditioning system, in 1902?Answer: Alfred Wolff. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
How it works and the words of the trade 14
About how much of the total supply air in an air conditioning system is typically fresh air from outside?Answer: About 10 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
Air conditioning is the process of removing what from an enclosed space?Answer: Heat. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Besides temperature and humidity, what do heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems regulate in vehicles and buildings?Answer: Indoor air quality. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
The efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by SEER. What do the letters stand for?Answer: Seasonal energy efficiency ratio. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
How does cooled air lose its moisture as it passes over the cold coils?Answer: The moisture condenses on the cold surfaces. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In the United States, air conditioning is shortened to A/C. What is the usual short form in the United Kingdom?Answer: Air con. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
In which part of the refrigeration cycle does the refrigerant lose heat to the outside and turn back into a liquid?Answer: The condenser. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
What do the letters HVAC stand for?Answer: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
What is a variable-frequency drive, which controls the speed of a compressor, also called?Answer: An inverter. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
What is the delivery of air to a space and its removal from that space known as?Answer: Room air distribution. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
What is the heat exchanger called in which the liquid refrigerant is allowed to evaporate?Answer: The evaporator. Source: Wikipedia: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
What relative humidity will an air conditioner designed for an occupied space typically achieve?Answer: 30 to 60 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Which kind of refrigeration do air conditioners typically use?Answer: Vapor-compression refrigeration. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning
Which part lets a heat pump both heat and cool a space?Answer: A reversing valve. Source: Wikipedia: Air conditioning