In 1883, Ed Friedrich founded a company in San Antonio, Texas, that produced, among other things, very early refrigeration units. By the middle of the 20th century, Friedrich was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of refrigeration units for commercial use.
They saw the growing market for air conditioning. The Friedrich company took advantage of their cooling expertise and began producing window units in 1952. Today, Friedrich is one of the best known manufacturers of room air conditioners. Their tough commercial-grade products are used in homes and hotels, on oil rigs, in chemical processing plants, and even at the Kennedy Space Center.
Friedrich’s State of the art lab is conveniently located right next door to their headquarters in San Antonio. At this lab new designs and products are subjected to rigorous testing to ensure their durability and energy efficiency.
Durability and Efficiency Testing
- Soak-testing to ensure new prototypes can withstand extremely high humidity
- Testing in extreme temperatures
- Continuous runs to test longevity
- Dropping, dragging, and shaking to test protective packaging.
Friedrich produces a wide range of products for residential use. This includes room/window units, through-the-wall units, ductless split systems, portable air conditioners, and air purifiers. Some of these products are commercial-grade units that can also be used in commercial and industrial environments.
Friedrich’s Chill line of residential window units comes in both cooling only and cooling plus electric heat models. They come in a wide range of sizes. They can be built to condition spaces from 100 square feet all the way up to 1500 square feet. The larger models can be put in a window or installed through a wall
Chill units have a multi-speed fan to better control the heating and cooling of your space. Plus, they have auto-sweep louvers that move back and forth, providing more even distribution of conditioned air. Some of the Chill models are EnergyStar certified for efficiency.
Other lines of air conditioners for residential use from Friedrich
- The Kuhl line, which is commercial-grade
- The WallMaster, for through-the-wall installations
- The Floating Air wall-mounted ductless split system with inverter technology.