Pennsylvania’s Hottest Summer

Last week was a scorcher for us, with temperatures above 90. If you’re wondering how that compares to previous summers, here are some facts. The hottest summer on record in Pennsylvania was in 1936. That July, temperatures were measured at 111 for consecutive days in Phoenixville, and that doesn’t include the heat index. In the 1930s there was a series of hot summers. And, it was in 1930 that Summers Brothers Plumbing and Heating opened in Gap, PA. The first modern air conditioning unit was invented in 1902. The first home to have air conditioning was in North Carolina in 1933. But it wasn’t until 1975 that central air conditioning became standard in U.S. home construction, just two years after Summers Brothers and C.H. Zimmerman merged to form Summers & Zims.