When In Rome…

Underfloor heating is one of the most energy efficient and effective ways to heat your home. Although modern research points to this fact it seems that ancient research agrees.

Thousands of years ago when the Roman Empire had spread to many corners of the globe, underfloor heating was used in the climates that were less hospitable, and it is winning awards millennia later! In 2007 the hypocaust heating system was voted the greatest ever example of heating engineering by the Heating and Ventilator Contractors Association.

Although contemporary underfloor heating is affordable and accessible, this was not the case in the Roman era. Underfloor heating was only for the very rich as it required a house to be built to certain architectural specifications and staff to maintain it. The system was known as a hypocaust and it was used in public baths as well as private houses.

The heating system worked on the basis of one furnace that was constantly burning next to one exterior wall of the house. This would feed into a room known as the caldarium which would be heated from under the floor and both walls. The floor was raised on stacks of tiles leaving enough space for the convection of the heat throughout the house.

They did not have the same underfloor heating insulation as we do today, so much of the heat would be lost in other rooms, making the adjoining room slightly cooler, this was called the tepidarium. Luckily installing underfloor heating today is much simpler and cost effective however the fundamental principals have still survived to this day.