Boilers through the ages

The boiler in your home is a vital component of the heating and hot water supply. Without it, things in the home will get pretty uncomfortable in the wintertime. The desire to keep warm, and take a nice bath now and again is a universal need in all humans and it’s been something that we’ve been trying to achieve properly for decades. As Sheldon Cooper comments “If outside is so good, why has mankind spent thousands of years trying to perfect inside?” It’s why you need to make sure that Boiler Repair Cheltenham based company https://www.hprservicesltd.com/cheltenham-boilers/boiler-repair-cheltenham/ should be called in case of an issue.

Image credit

The Romans are the first people to really seriously look at using a boiler system to heat their home, or in this case, posh Villa in the countryside. The hit upon the concept of the Hypocaust. A hard mosaic floor was laid, this was very decorative, and it was placed on lots of pillars. At one end of the building, a wood store would be filled, and hundreds of logs would be set alight. This generated heat, mainly hot air, that then filtered through to warm the water in the bathhouse. The rest warmed the pillars and the mosaic floor of the living room.

All of this was lost in the middle ages when the knowledge of the system was forgotten. The open fire was the way forward and the “boiler” was usually a large iron pot full of water and kept hot to the point of boiling. This continued through the ages until Victorian times when ranges became the norm. These were large wrought iron cookers and heaters that were housed in the kitchen. They were constantly kept warm and ready to be used.

Image credit

In the 20th Century, the back boiler came into existence. This was based to some degree on the range idea. A central chimney based, open fire system not only heated the living room it also had a hot water tank behind it. This was a pretty efficient system and was then backed up with an immersion heater in the summertime.

The modern boiler is also a creation of the Victorian era. It’s the first to tap into the use of gas directly, warming water and then passing it through the copper pipes of the home to the radiators.