Science of Success: The Hot Window AC Making Summers Cool

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

They’re ugly. They’re clunky. They’re loud. And, worst of all, they spike your energy bills every summer. The window air conditioner is a dreaded summer staple in many homes. But one company is redefining how an AC functions by thinking outside the typical window box. For Science of Success, WSJ’s Ben Cohen tells the story of Midea’s U-shaped window AC that captured the collective consciousness for its noise reduction and energy efficiency. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free The Future of Everything newsletter. Further reading: How Did the World’s Coolest Air Conditioner Get So Hot? The Race to Build a Better Air Conditioner Does Turning Off Your A/C When You’re Not Home Actually Save Money? My Love Affair With Air-Conditioning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This program is brought to you by Vanta.
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0:19.3	Ah, summer, the time for popsicles and pool parties, for baseball and playing in the sun, the time for
0:32.4	the distracting unrelenting noise of air conditioners.
0:36.0	They're clunky, they're ugly, they're often way too loud.
0:41.0	The AC window unit has been the same general shape since it first went on the market in
0:46.2	1932, a box that sits on a ledge and fits into a window.
0:51.4	A box that spikes your energy bill, a box that's typically difficult to install
0:55.8	and takes up the whole window for the whole summer.
0:59.6	And that was pretty much the only option, until one company released a new kind of window AC.
1:05.0	It broke that box into a U-shape and this technological leap opened up a whole new world of
1:11.8	quieter and more energy efficient air conditioning.
1:15.0	From the Wall Street Journal, this is the science of success.
1:19.0	A look at how today's successes could lead to tomorrow's innovations.
1:23.4	I'm Ben Cohen.
1:24.8	I write a column for the journal about how people, ideas, and teams work and when they thrive.
1:30.4	Today we're looking at the innovations behind the MyDIA U-shaped AC, the hit appliance that left the AC industry blown away.
1:39.0	The Chinese giant Mydia began pouring resources into an American subsidiary back in 2016.
	...

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