Heating apparatus, aka furnaces, have been in use for ages to keep homes warm and cozy. Over the years, the method to keep the frigid outside air at bay has evolved from wood-burning fireplaces and stoves to natural gas furnaces.
Furnaces – How Have They Changed Over Time?
Ancient underfloor heating: In ancient times, the open ceiling fire was the most common furnace, but there were a few exceptions like underfloor heating. Ondol (Korean for “baked stones”) was an underfloor heating system where the fire was burned under a masonry floor, and the heat gets absorbed and transferred throughout the house.
Romans used hypocausts (channels in stone floors or walls) throughout a home that led to flues in the roof. It was an effective way of heating without allowing smoke to pollute the interior. Later on, the chimney came in use, followed by the invention of the stove. The fuel source for the kind of furnaces or heating system was wood for many centuries. By the 19th-century coal found its use as fuel.
Furnaces Have Sustained Human Life for Millenia
By the beginning of the 20th-century electrical heater, radiator, and warm air systems sprung up as furnace heating systems. The furnace systems we have today come with many technological improvements, including:
Variable speed technology: The high-efficiency models of modern electrical or natural gas furnaces are equipped with variable speed blower motors. This feature alters the speed at which the air is blown throughout the home. It makes the environment comfortable by providing a better mix of hot and cold air, preventing cold and hot spots.
Multiple stages of operation: All the traditional furnaces that have existed since ancient times lacked temperature control. There were only two operation stages, either 100% or off. Modern furnaces come with multi-stage firing capacities (turning on and off when needed) to meet the comfort demand of your house. The temperature control also helps you to save money and energy.
Blower delay: It is a very uncomfortable feeling when you switch on your furnace heating system and are greeted with a blast of freezing air. This problem is efficiently solved by the modern-day furnace heaters that come with a blower delay system. Such heaters make sure that the air ducts are comfortably warm by the time air starts flowing through them.
When compared to the ancient furnace heating systems, the modern ones are more efficient and automatic. However, they require a periodic cleaning and maintenance schedule to keep them working optimally.
For more information on maintaining your furnace, contact Good Deals Heating and Cooling at 215-947-1166.
