Boilers, usually powered by gas, have become the de facto way of heating up water for washing and filling radiators in the modern home. They perform a vital service, and they require regular attention and care to operate effectively. It’s tough to imagine what life was like before the introduction of the modern boiler. Here are some of the ways how we had sought to heat the home before the current boiler became widespread.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Our ancient ancestors prefered the use of large open fires to warm their homes. This naked heat created the problem of the home itself burning down if not controlled. The houses were mainly constructed of wood and thatch. Therefore it’s no wonder that fire was treated with great respect. After discovering bronze and iron, huge cauldrons and pots were made to hold water to be boiled. These cauldrons and pots enabled people to have a hot bath instead of bathing in a cold river.
Come the Roman Empire, come more civilised ways of heating the home. There is evidence to suggest that the advances brought by the Romans influence were fireplaces. These were designated places for the heat in the house. They were made large enough to add wrought iron pots for water to be suspended above them. If you were wealthy you might have even had a heated floor using a hypocaust. A Hypocaust was a mosaic tiled floor laid out over columns or tunnels. An oversized furnace piled high with logs and constantly fed by servants or slaves would generate heat that would flow under the floor.
With the end of the Roman period, things tend to regress a little. There is a return to the fire pit as the Saxon, Angles and Jutes who came to settle in Britain did not have the skills or knowledge how to maintain the intricate systems. The Romano-Britons were also unable to look after this Roman inheritance. The Dark ages led to the Middle Ages. With the increased use of dressed stone, houses began to incorporate the Inglenook fireplace. These were large fireplaces that could heat an entire room and much of the house. They had seating and plenty of space for cooking food. They were a very communal space that the family could sit and talk.
It was not until the Victorian age that we started to see a boiler system as we would know today. The first revolutionary style of boiler worked in some ways as to Roman’s hypocaust. The fireplace would also act as the water heater. A pump, sometimes gravity fed, would then provide hot water for washing. These early systems were limited to the well off. For the most part, pots and even cauldrons were still used for warming up water for the weekly use of a tin bath.
With better use of iron and steel we were able to create larger ranges for cooking and radiators. Pumps were also added to push the hot water there the copper pipes to the radiators. The boiler is essential and as such if you need Boiler Repair Cheltenham way then HPR are you answer.