The Evolution of Home Heating Systems

Let there be heat!

How to heat our homes and places of work is not something that has only concerned us in modern times. From the earliest civilizations, the need for warmth in a living space was a conundrum that was solved in various ways.

However, in some way or other, the means of staying warm has changed little, simply improved and modified over the years as various energy sources have become more popular and as our homes have changed too.

You may assume, for example, that underfloor heating is a modern invention, taking advantage of hot water being pumped through sub-floor piping but this is not the case. The Romans, for example, realized that to stay warm in the bath houses that the hot water could be used to run under the floor to heat the rooms.

Modern electric underfloor heating is a relatively new invention but the principal is the same – to heat the room, without it costing the earth.

Considering underfloor heating?

You will read a lot about it and people will undoubtedly express an opinion about it too, but modern-day underfloor heating is popular. Although there is an outlay to install it, many homeowners currently basking in a delightful, gentle background heat don’t get those monster energy bills any more – and neither do they have cold feet.

So, as you stand on the precipice of ‘underfloor heating or not?’, take a look at how our ancestors created heating systems to keep them warm – and how we retain some of these principles to this day!

Infographic below via Underfloor Heating Supply.

evolution of home heating systems