• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The DIY Doctor's Blog
MENUMENU
  • DIY Doctor menu logo
  • Home
  • Projects
    • All Projects
    • Brick, Block, Marsonary and Concrete
    • Damp, Condensation, Rot and Woodworm
    • Doors, Windows and Conservatories
    • Electrical
    • Fencing, Decking, Paving and Patios
    • Floors, Walls, Ceilings and Lofts
    • Garages, Sheds and Outbuildings
    • Gardening and Landscaping
    • General Building, Self Build and Renovation
    • General Repairs and Cleaning
    • Green Living and Eco DIY
    • Ground work, Foundations and Drainage
    • Heating, Central Heating and Boilers
    • Joinery and Carpentry
    • Materials, Fixings and Fixing
    • Painting, Decorating and Finishing
    • Planning Regs, Project Management and Safety
    • Plastering, Plasterboard and Rendering
    • Plumbing
    • Roofing and Gutters
    • Tiling and Tiles
    • Tools, Appliances and Access
    • DIY Tips
  • UK DIY Forums
  • DIY Videos
    • Bathroom DIY Videos
    • Building Foundation Videos
    • Building Videos
    • Carpentry and Woodworking Videos
    • Damp and Damproofing Videos
    • Decorating Videos
    • Electrical Videos
    • Fitting Blinds Videos
    • Flooring Videos
    • Gardening Videos
    • Green and Eco Friendly Videos
    • Hand and Power Tools Videos
    • Heating and Central Heating Videos
    • Kitchen Videos
    • Plastering and Drylining Videos
    • Plumbing Videos
    • Security Videos
  • Find Tradesmen
    • Find a Tradesman
    • Contract Download
    • Working With Tradesmen - Ultimate Guide
    • Home Improver Protection
    • Price Doctor
  • Tool Store
    • Tool Store
    • Bookstore
    • Tool Reviews and Product Reviews
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • DIY Competitions
  • About us
    • About DIY Doctor
    • What we do
    • Trade Shows and Exhibitions
    • Master Classes
    • Contact Us

Home > Blog Home >  Central Heating and Boilers >  Heating the home – The first innovations

Heating the home – The first innovations

Posted on February 9, 2013 by DIY Doctor

We are all thankful for central heating at this time of year, and we thought we would look at the early years of central heating history.

Being able to heat our environment is an essential part of survival in cold-climate countries.

We have been heating our homes since man ‘discovered’ fire or at least managed to bend it to his will, this happened some 200,000-400,000 years ago. A broad span of time, but experts differ on what constitutes use of fire in domestic terms.

Man used fire as the first way to keep warm

Open Fire

Early man would have used an open fire to keep warm, cook and deter predators. As a source of heat an open fire is primitive. Most of the heat rises up away from the bodies around it, and it generates a lot of smoke which is inconvenient in an enclosed space.

When fires were used in early dwellings there would have been a trade off between the heat required and smoke to tolerate. Chimneys, which would have been a simple hole to begin with, helped with the removal of smoke. In Europe the earliest record of a chimney is in a Swiss Monastery in AD820, but they did not become commonplace until the 12th Century.

Fireplaces

With the development of the chimney a fire could be moved from its central location in a room to a perimeter wall. The fire then started to become enclosed by a fireplace. The invention of the fireplace made the fire safer and less smokey. It also allowed the whole hearth and surround to heat up which radiates some heat into the room rather than losing all the heat up the chimney.

Kang and Ondol

We shouldn’t forget that while this was the history of heating in Europe, China had already had heated beds call Kangs and the Koreans had developed heated floors called Ondol meaning Warm Stone. These development went on between 10,000 and 5,000 BC. They often used charcoal for heating rather than wood as it is much less smokey.

Kangs were developed in Northern China where the winters can be very harsh. They are still used in some homes and guest houses. They consist of a raised area or platform in a room. There is a furnace underneath which heats the whole platform area. Traditionally these would have been heated by charcoal or even coal. At night bedding is laid down and the whole family sleep on the Kang to keep warm. During the day bedding is rolled up and the area is used for daytime activities.

The Korean Ondol system is similar to the Chinese Kang but the whole floor is heated. A raided masonry floor is heated from beneath using the smoke and heat from a fire lit in a fireplace or stove in an adjoining room (often a kitchen). There is a chimney at the opposite side of the room to allow the smoke to escape.The family would traditionally live and sleep in this heated room during cold weather.

Both of these systems make use of the benefits of body heat. By everyone in the household using the same space at night, as well as during the day, their body heat is shared into the room. Also by only heating one room it is much more efficient than heating many individual rooms.

Roman Heating

The Romans are often credited with inventing central heating, but they probably got the idea from the Ancient Greeks and the Koreans were way ahead of them. Although without the internet it is unlikely that the Greeks were influenced directly by the Koreans.

Whoever invented the idea, the Romans definitely brought their Hypocaust heating systems to Britain. Our primitive hearths must have made them shudder especially with their penchant for wearing sandals in all weathers.

The hypocaust system had a central fire which was fired by wood, or by coal in the UK as it could be surface mined and was more efficient and less smokey than wood to burn. The heat from the fire was then distributed under hollow floors as well as through pipes and ducts in the wall, to give an even and effective heating system. It was obviously an expensive and labour intensive process to keep the buildings warm in this way, but they had slaves and servants for cheap labour.

Roman settlements usually had shared bath houses, which allowed a much more efficient use of fuel to heat water and create steam for saunas.

Underfloor heating today

Underfloor heating went out of fashion when the Romans left Britain, but it has started to become more popular again. If you want to know more about types of heating for your home you can browse through our projects section on the main site. If you are interested in underfloor heating then you can start with our project using water for underfloor heating systems.

Underfloor water heating pipes under a timber floor.


Signup for the DIY Doctor Newsletter

<< Next Post

Gnomes are like Marmite
Gnomes are like Marmite

Previous Post >>

DIY Doctors forum Questions – Garden abutting a wall, causing damp
DIY Doctors forum Questions – Garden abutting a wall, causing damp

Primary Sidebar

DIY Doctor deal of the week

DIY Utility Kit:

Build your own work bench!

RRP Price: £49.99

Special Price: £39.95

Get it here now

See our other deals now!

Advert

Signup for our Newsletter

Keep up to date with our DIY projects, tips and latest deals

Sign Me Up!

Follow DIY Doctor

Follow DIY Doctor on Facebook
Follow DIY Doctor on Twitter
Follow DIY Doctor on YouTube
Follow DIY Doctor on Pinterest
Follow DIY Doctor on Tumblr

Blog Categories

Footer

DIY Doctor

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Media/Press
  • Community Work
  • DIY Projects
  • DIY Videos
  • Superstore
  • DIY Tips
  • DIY Suppliers
  • UK DIY Forum
  • DIY Webinars

Other Stuff

  • Advertise
  • Competitions
  • T and C’s
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • NHIC
  • Sitemap

DIY Doctor Social Channels

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on YouTube
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Tumblr

DIY Doctor are members of:

© DIY Doctor Ltd 2021 All Rights Reserved