Historical origins of under floor heating
The Romans first used underfloor heating. Initially the
preserve of the rich, under floor heating became increasingly
commonplace in public buildings and villas, particularly in the
colder regions of the Roman Empire.
The Roman system was based on ducts that underlay the raised floor
and flues that were built into walls. Hot air or steam from fires
circulated up through this system, warming the floor and walls, with
heat passing into the rooms.
Once the air had passed under the floor, the air was drawn into the
walls and up the flues by the action of the hot air already rising
in the flues creating a partial vacuum and so pulling the air below
into the walls. The walls were very often made of bricks with two
holes horizontally through them. This had the effect of passing the
air through the walls and into the flues, thereby warming the walls
also.
A furnace was the heating source of the system and this was placed
on the outside of the house, below the floor that ran under the room
that was to be the hottest room in the house. One room was always
hotter than the rest, as the air flowing under the floor would
naturally lose some of its heat as it was travelling under the
floor.
The Roman under floor heating system was a labour intensive device
that required constant attention to feed the fire and remove the
ashes. (Again, it was originally only the wealthy that could afford
to have it.) The fire would need regular attention from household
workers who would have to rake out the ashes with a long handled
tool and, using the same tool, push new fuel into the fire.
In the Korean peninsula there was a system of under floor heating
but a cooking stove that served a dual purpose, cooking and heating,
replaced the furnace of the Roman system. The kitchen area was lower
than the living areas and the warm air rising heated the living
areas. Even today in new housing developments in Korea this form of
heating is incorporated
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What
is Underfloor Heating?