FROM THEN TO NOW, AFFORDABULL HEAT & AIR OF RUSSELLVILLE WALKS YOU THROUGH A BASIC HISTORY OF IN-HOME HEATING.

Have you ever imagined what it must have been like for our ancient ancestors when the only way to stay warm at night was a well-built fire and maybe an animal hide to snuggle underneath? Sure, today we still enjoy a nice campfire with friends but caveman life doesn’t sound all that pleasant. Thankfully our heating options have advanced over the centuries, from the methods of keeping ourselves warm to the types of structures we choose to make our home in.

Have you ever wondered about the history of heating and how humans developed technology to keep ourselves warm and comfortable all winter long? Well, it all starts back in the 1100s, when the prototypes of the modern chimney began to appear. Prior to then, using in-door fireplaces depended on small holes placed within the walls or roof to allow the smoke to slowly escape. You can see how that setup would lead to other problems. 

Surprisingly, chimneys didn’t become commonplace until around the 1500s. In fact, they wouldn’t develop into the streamlined, smoke-removal systems we would recognize today for another 200 years due to humans finally gaining a better understanding of physics and how heat actually works.

We can actually thank one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin for several of the innovations that led to our modern understanding of home heating. In the year 1742, at the age of 36, he invented the original version of the Pennsylvania Fireplace, a cast-iron fireplace designed to be inserted into the home's existing fireplace space. Franklin famously refused to patent his new fireplace, which would go on to be known as the Franklin Stove, allowing it to be continually improved upon and made more efficient by other inventors, just as the famous David Rittenhouse. These new versions continued to be the primary method for heating American homes until the late 1880s when the first radiators and furnaces came into existence.

It was at this time that low-cost, cast iron radiators were first invented, and due to the innovations of the industrial revolution, were able to be mass-produced and made more readily available to Americans eager to bring central heating into their homes. These early radiator systems were usually fueled by a coal-fired boiler located in the home’s basement, which then sent hot water or steam into radiators placed throughout the house.

A few decades later the first riveted-steel coal furnaces were built. The original version of these types of heating systems depended on convection (hot air rising) through ducts from the basement furnace to control the temperature in the house. This would be improved upon with the introduction of electricity-power fans being added to circulate the warm air throughout the home. 

By the mid-1800s, gas and oil became the primary fuel used to heat the home and forced air furnaces became the norm, which meant that homeowners no longer had to ‘stoke the coals,’ to keep their homes warm. Since then, home heating technology has abounded, eventually resulting in the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) systems we depend on today. 

Due to their expense, the first true HVAC systems were mostly limited to commercial use, however, in 1932 H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman produced the first ac/heating unit that could fit into a window sill. Eventually, this would lead to most homes having some type of residential HVAC system by the 1960s.  HVAC technology continued to undergo intense development over the last half-century, with the invention of high-pressure heating systems serving as a particularly high achievement in the history of home heating. 



Innovations in home heating and HVAC systems don’t stop there. Technology is always evolving and adapting to our changing world. Who knows what tomorrow will bring for the future of home heating. For more information on the latest innovations in home heating, contact the experts at professionals at AffordaBull Heat & Air in Russellville, Arkansas, proudly serving residents of the River Valley!