Know More About Your Home Heating System

Home heating technology has come very far from the days of huddling around open fires in caves. As the construction of residences improved, so did the means to heat them.

Gradually, the introduction of centralized heating systems became the norm, and today, we see new innovations that make home heating more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

The Fireplace

Fireplaces came onto the scene in the 800s, when the construction of stone castles created a need for a means to heat larger areas.

A Frenchman named Louis Savot designed a circulating heat fireplace in the 1600s that included a raised grate, hollow iron bottom and iron hearth back that took cold air at the bottom and moved warmed air through openings above the mantelpiece, an innovation that later became the forced-air central heating system.

The chimney allowed fireplaces to become larger to warm the ever-growing rooms built to house families and create public spaces.

Metal Stoves

Early stoves began being used around the same time that fireplaces came into vogue. Stoves in use after 1400 were constructed of cast iron firebacks connected together.

Later, Germany and Holland became the centers of manufacture for parts specifically made for stove units. Today, heating stoves are still in use in rural areas where other means of heating is unavailable or too expensive.

Radiant Heat

Radiant heat began very early in history, about 80 A.D., when a king in Turkey installed a floor system that heated his palace. The technology traveled to Rome, where a number of systems used raised flooring or hollow walls to heat living areas.

Modern Heating

Early civilizations implemented their forms of central heating early in human history, but it was not until fans and motors became available that these systems became widely popular.

Steam power offered a new option for Winston-Salem home heating. The radiators came into use in the late 1700s. Steam heat became popular in various regions of the world, including the United States, where it was utilized widely in Winston-Salem homes and industrial buildings.

The use of coal-powered furnaces was widespread in the 1900s, but the development of automatic controls made them more convenient and efficient. Oil and natural gas became popular after 1920.

Many older homes still in use continue to use oil. Natural gas became more affordable in the 1940s and was widely used as a home heating fuel after World War II and

New Heating Technologies

Today, solar panels can be found in many communities across the United States and in other nations of the world. Improved batteries have made storage of electricity from solar power practical and affordable.

Wind power offers another option in many areas that have the space and environmental conditions to make this method workable for the average home.

Home heating will continue to develop as new technologies make new designs and new fuel resources possible. New options will continue to build on current methods to provide clean and comfortable heating for today’s families.

Interested in taking a closer look at your Winston-Salem, NC HVAC system? Call Blaze Air today at (336) 788-3222 today.