Old man winter has arrived, and he has greeted us with some bitterly cold temperatures. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without being able to increase the temperature in your home at the touch of a button, isn’t it? The heater that you use in your home is based on technology that has only been around since the 19th and 20th centuries. So, what did people do to stay warm in the winter?
Prehistoric Times: As you may have already known, man’s first source of heat was fire. Prehistoric man’s discovery of fire allowed him to stay warm and cook food, both of which were important for the development of civilization.
Ancient Times: The ancient Greeks and Romans are often credited with developing primitive central heating systems. There is evidence from ancient Greek ruins that they utilized hearths, fireplaces, stoves, and even systems under the floor to regulate temperature in homes and temples. The Romans are credited with developing an even more advanced system, which used a chamber under the floor to produce heat that escaped through openings in the floor. Later systems could also heat walls, making rooms even more comfortable.
Medieval Times: Like many other technologies in the middle ages, heating took a step backward. Most castles were heated using simple fireplaces. They had a short flue, which was a precursor to modern chimneys. It took hundreds of years for people to move forward again, with warm air stoves being introduced in the 1600s.
Industrial Revolution: Huge advances in central heating came as the result of the Industrial Revolution. Furnaces, boilers, and hot water heaters all came into existence in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which drastically changed the way people heated their homes.
Modern Times: Today, the most common types of heaters are furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps. These heaters can be powered by a variety of sources including electricity, oil, and natural gas. The advent of the thermostat allowed users to adjust the temperature of their home easily .
Heaters are certainly a modern marvel that we are all thankful for. But when your heater breaks down subzero temperatures, it can seem like a disaster. Don’t worry — when you need furnace repair in Brick or Toms River just call Care Temp Heating and Air Conditioning, a trusted HVAC contractor in Toms River, NJ since 1994. We’ll get your heater back up and running in no time.