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| History Timeline |
| 1940: The War Years
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 World War II puts a halt to most civilian construction. A few months before the U.S. goes to war, Willis Carrier installs his first Weathermaster air-conditioning units, an "air and water" induction system utilizing high-velocity air and smaller ducts. The Equitable Building in Portland, Ore., becomes the prototype for the modern fully air-conditioned office building.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture uses R-11 and R-12 to develop new aerosol propellants. With a war-time need for aerosol insecticides, based on Freon® propellants, for U.S. troops in the Pacific, Kinetic Chemicals expands its facilities, opening a wartime fluorocarbon plant in E. Chicago.
40 million units of self-contained, pressurized packs of liquefied Freon® 12, known as "the bug bomb," are prepared for U.S. military forces, primarily for use as propellants for insecticides. In addition, fluorocarbons are used for refrigeration transport, frozen-food production and medical applications, including frozen blood plasma.
In 1945 R-13 is developed and released for use.
Prior to 1940, the only way to keep cool in an automobile is to open a window. What flew into the car was another matter. The gradual acceptance of fresh air heating and the cowl ventilator start a trend toward modern automotive air-conditioning. As the decade begins, Packard and Cadillac begin offering air-conditioning units on their luxury cars, mostly in the Southwest. By 1947, many independent manufacturers created a large aftermarket business by installing air conditioners on all makes of cars.
In 1949, DuPont buys out GM's interest in Kinetic Chemicals and creates its Organic Chemicals Department. The name is soon changed to Freon® Products Division.
Room air-conditioners are now widely accepted throughout the country.
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