Do you ever think about your heating system? I would guess that the answer is No. I should imagine that the only time that you think about your heating system is when you need to contact a boiler repair Gloucester company like http://www.hprservicesltd.com/gloucester-boilers/boiler-repair-gloucester/ when your boiler encounters a problem. If you are intrigued by the system that heats your house here are some fun facts for you:
- Natural gas is odourless – the gas companies actually add the smell to the gas before it is distributed through the pipe network. It is added merely as a safety measure so that any gas leaks can be detected quickly and safely.
- You need to thank the Romans for the concept of larger scale underfloor heating. Hypocausts heated the bath houses through a system of hot air from a furnace funnelled into a floor space through a system of columns to heat the room above through the hot air rising through the floor space to the room above.
- Heating your home can amount to around 30% of your overall household energy bill.
- Before air conditioning was established people used to cool both their food and their houses by using blocks of ice. Air would flow over the blocks of ice and produce cool air.
- Temperature can affect the way that you sleep and the quality of the sleep that you have. It is thought that there is an optimum temperature your bedroom should be at for the best quality sleep: 18-22C or 65-72F
- The Chinese were some of the first people to transport natural gas through pipelines in around 500BC. Bamboo was used to trap the gas as it escaped to the surface and was then used again to transport this gas.
- October is the most common month for people in the United Kingdom to switch on their heating systems.
- We are no longer confined to standard radiator styles. People have had radiators designed in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including one like a dinosaur.
- Radiators used to be made from cast iron which was not only expensive but also heavy to install.
- The Victorians saw radiators and their respective pipework as a status symbol as this form of heating a house was restricted only to those who could afford it.
So, there you go, some interesting facts about radiators and heating systems. I wonder what facts we will be sharing about them in a hundred years’ time.