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Gas Furnace (Natural Gas) & Air Duct Distribution
Alice H. Parker

Inventor
Alice H. Parker
Alice H. Parker (1895 – 1920) was an African-American inventor who was active in the early 1900s. She is known for her patent for a gas furnace. At the time, gas central heating had yet to be developed, so people relied on burning coal or wood as their main source of heating.
Parker felt that the fireplace was not enough to keep her and her home warm during the cold New Jersey winter and designed the first gas furnace that was powered by natural gas and the first heating system to contain individually controlled air ducts that distributed heat evenly throughout the building. Parker’s heating system used independently controlled burner units that drew in cold air and conveyed the heat through a heat exchanger.
By using natural gas, it heated homes more efficiently than wood or coal counterparts (which were more time consuming and expensive). Parker’s invention was further improved in 1935 by scientists who created forced convection wall heaters that use a coal furnace, electric fan, and ductwork throughout a home. Nowadays, homes utilize thermostats and forced air furnaces which can be attributed to Parker’s design and invention of the central heating furnace.
Parker’s patent has served as a basis for the development of heating systems throughout the 20th century and today. Parker’s design, which allows for an individual to control the heating received for each room in a house, is recognizable in the zonal heating system, and especially the “smart home” technology, that is used by nearly all households in the current century.
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Gas Furnace (Natural Gas) & Air Duct Distribution
Alice H. Parker

Biography
Alice H. Parker (1895 – 1920) was an African-American inventor who was active in the early 1900s. She is known for her patent for a gas furnace. At the time, gas central heating had yet to be developed, so people relied on burning coal or wood as their main source of heating.
Parker felt that the fireplace was not enough to keep her and her home warm during the cold New Jersey winter and designed the first gas furnace that was powered by natural gas and the first heating system to contain individually controlled air ducts that distributed heat evenly throughout the building. Parker's heating system used independently controlled burner units that drew in cold air and conveyed the heat through a heat exchanger. By using natural gas, it heated homes more efficiently than wood or coal counterparts (which were more time consuming and expensive). Parker's invention was further improved in 1935 by scientists who created forced convection wall heaters that use a coal furnace, electric fan, and ductwork throughout a home. Nowadays, homes utilize thermostats and forced air furnaces which can be attributed to Parker's design and invention of the central heating furnace. Parker’s patent has served as a basis for the development of heating systems throughout the 20th century and today. Parker’s design, which allows for an individual to control the heating received for each room in a house, is recognizable in the zonal heating system, and especially the “smart home” technology, that is used by nearly all households in the current century.
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