Object Details
- Description
- This is a Honeywell Round T832 day-night thermostat that was manufactured by the Minneapolis-Honeywell Company around 1960. Renowned industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss designed the iconic “Round” line of Honeywell thermostats that debuted in 1953. This 1960 model has two built-in red indicators that allow for the setting of two temperatures as well as a “set-back timer” which would automatically switch between the two thermostats. Staring in the 1953, Honeywell offered the Round in a variety of colors to match any home’s color scheme for a price of $12.80.
- The ubiquity of thermostats in 21st century homes shrouds the decades of innovation, industrial design, and engineering that went into making them an everyday object. In the early 20th century, a majority of American households still heated their homes with manually operated furnaces that required a trip down to the basement and stoking the coal fired furnace. Albert Butz’s “damper-flapper” system was patented in 1886 and allowed the home owner to set the thermostat to a certain temperature which would open a damper to the furnace, increasing the fire and heating the house. Progressive innovations allowed for the thermostats to use gas lines, incorporate electricity, turn on at a set time, include heating and cooling in one mechanism, and even connect to the internet.
- 1960
- ID Number
- 2008.0011.16
- accession number
- 2008.0011
- catalog number
- 2008.0011.16
- Object Name
- thermostat
- Measurements
- overall: 1 3/4 in x 3 5/8 in; 4.445 cm x 9.2075 cm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
- Engineering, Building, and Architecture
- American Enterprise
- Thermostats
- Domestic Furnishings
- Exhibition
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1392753
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-2e2d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
