Toshiba Carrier Corporation celebrated today a great honor awarded for its achievement(*1) in developing and mass-producing the world’s-first inverter air conditioners for commercial and residential applications in 1980 and 1981, respectively. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recognized the achievement in last September as an IEEE Milestone for the historical significance of the achievement in electrical and electronics fields. The IEEE hosted a ceremony at Fuji Operations, located in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, to dedicate a commemorative plaque to the company. The ceremony was attended in person or remotely by about 70 participants, including IEEE officials, Yoshimasa Konagai, Mayor of Fuji City, and distinguished guests from academic and industrial societies.
“The significant accomplishments of Toshiba in developing and mass-producing the world’s first split inverter air conditioners for commercial and residential applications led to (inverter air conditioner’s) widespread use and improved comfort and energy efficiency around the globe”, said Toshio Fukuda, Past President of IEEE, prior to the actual dedication of the commemorative plaque during the ceremony. "In these unsettling times of challenge, it is even more important that we take opportunities to come together and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our colleagues throughout the engineering and technology professions. IEEE’s core purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity”.
“It is a great honor that our achievement on the world’s first air conditioners has been recognized as an IEEE Milestone”, said Toru Kubo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba Carrier Corporation. “Taking pride in this glory earned by our predecessors and carrying their spirit into the next generation to lead in global innovation as a heat pump solution company, we are committed to offer greener and highly value-added products, systems and services to address various needs from our valued customers and as a result would like to contribute to the society and the global environment.”
“We appreciate and value very much this IEEE Milestone recognition as we continue to contribute to society and sustainability through our innovative technologies, products and solutions“, commented Oon Wee Chin, Senior Executive Vice President of Toshiba Carrier Corporation. “Working with global alliance partner Carrier, we serve our customers in 142 countries throughout the world. We are committed to develop new and innovative technologies and contribute to a better world for our future generations.”
Toshiba Carrier’s Fuji Operations include e-THIRD, its global R&D center which started operation back in last May. At e-THIRD, Toshiba Carrier strives to promote innovation based on experiences built around its sophisticated heat pump technologies as well as emerging cyber physical system (CPS) technologies.
*1 The milestone achievement was accomplished when the company was named Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. known as Toshiba.
About World’s-First Commercial and Residential Air Conditioners Toshiba Carrier developed and mass-produced the world’s first split-type air conditioners with inverter-driven compressors for commercial and residential applications in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Before the emergence of inverter air conditioners, the arrival of new technology was long awaited for a mechanism to achieve reduced energy loss and more flexible temperature adjustment than the conventional on-off control of the compressor run at a fixed speed (50 or 60Hz in Japan). Toshiba, with a state-of-the-art power electronics technologies and microprocessor control, achieved a significant downsizing in its inverters that were instrumental in variable-speed compressor operation for optimized temperature control with significantly improved comfort and energy efficiency. These innovations have led to wide-spread use of inverter air conditioners across the world.
