Good enough has never been good enough.
The year was 1919. And in the city of St. Louis, the air pollution was so thick that candles were needed to see during the day. Local evergreen growers even refused to sell trees to city residents. All of this was because of the extensive use of wood- and coal-burning furnaces.
Nortek Global HVAC got its start as the International Oil Heating Company, manufacturing environmentally friendlier oil burners for home heating. After success with St. Louis’ pollution problem, the company took its oil burners and coal conversion kits nationwide.
Nortek Global HVAC’s problem-solving approach continued throughout the next nine decades:
- First oil heater & first sealed combustion furnace for manufactured housing.
- First central air conditioning system for trailers.
- First wind tunnel machine to produce conditions up to 100 mph for better pilot light testing.
- First ducted application of inverter technology, resulting in the first split-system air conditioner to reach 25.5 SEER.
- First Micro-Channel evaporator coil.
- First residential gas/electric packaged system to reach 95% AFUE.
If there’s a better way, Nortek Global HVAC finds it.
We didn’t invent the internet, but we launched an online order system way back in 1989.
In 2002, Nortek Global HVAC introduced SmartLite® technology to extend igniter life through self-adjusting startup times.
While the rest of the industry scrambled to make 13 SEER the new minimum in 2006, we raised the bar to 23 SEER.