How The Central Heating System Has Evolved

When we think about central heating systems we do not normally picture ancient Greece

, but this was where the very first systems were used. The ancient Greeks were well known for their ingenuity and they created some pretty impressive devices in their time. Many of their cities were kept warm with a very clever system known as a Hypocaust.

A Hypocaust was powered by furnaces which would create a supply of hot air. This was conducted through specially created spaces beneath the floors and it would then be released through purpose-built pipes in the walls. A similar system was also employed by ancient Koreans (known as Ondol) but this made use of excessive heat from stoves. Whichever of these two systems you consider, they were amazing pieces of engineering to have had around two thousand years ago!

The Hypocaust was a hugely popular idea and it was used for many hundreds of years. The next big change to come along in heating design was in the 12th century when Syrian engineers began to use special under-floor pipes; this dispensed with the idea of the Hypocaust. The pipes ran directly from the furnace room and sent a great amount of heat into the buildings. It proved to be an effective design and it was used in bath-houses in many different countries.

A few other ideas were added to this system, but the next really big step did not come about until the 1700s. In Russia, engineers began to work with hydrologically- based heating systems; and these were the prototypes for modern central heating systems. The first proper radiator was finally invented between 1855 and 1857 by Franz San Galli in St. Petersburg and this was to be the final ingredient for our modern systems!

Our modern designers may not yet have been mentioned in the history books, but improvements in the world of heating are still going on. The systems of today are becoming more efficient all the time and heating our homes uses far less power than it once did. Because we are now all so much more aware of our effect on the environment, designers are concentrating on creating greener units. Many customers want to do as much as they can to help the planet and most heating suppliers will have several renewable energy systems in their range.

As far as the evolution of heating goes, it seems obvious that renewable energy systems are the next major step. Solar powered heating is already becoming very popular and customers are saving themselves a lot of money by having it installed. Another interesting development over recent years is ground source heating. As its name would suggest, this method collects heat from a subterranean origin and conducts it into the home.

It would seem that we are all finally beginning to understand the benefits of using natural sources of renewable energy. This is obviously great news for our planet and it will also make an enormous difference to our annual heating bills.

by: Jack Authors

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