A Brief History of Home Baseboard Heaters

From the time cavemen discovered fire, we’ve used heat to not only cook our food but keep ourselves warm during the harsh, cold nights. Throughout the generations, we learned to hone fire to our will, even so much as to gather heat from something other than flames. It’s through this intuitive nature that we created what we know today as the modern home baseboard radiator. This is a brief history of home radiators and their evolution over the generations.

The First Radiator

Though there have been various makeshift heater systems throughout history, the first official radiator invention didn’t come to be until the late 1850s. Designed and tested by businessman Franz San Galli, the first heating radiator ran on steam and consisted of hollow, cast-iron containers to transfer it throughout the system. Upon discovery, Victorian radiators, as people would call them, became increasingly sought after by nobles and aristocracy of the time.

Rising in popularity among nobles, it’s only natural that the general public would also take an interest in these luxurious devices. As such, inventors would come to hone the design of the initial product, change what fueled it, and make it more accommodating to the varying needs of consumers.

How We Know It Today

As the radiator evolved with the needs of each period, it progressively became more efficient as well as trendy. In fact, upon inventing the hot water radiator, many already experimented with ways to make it smaller and more compact. This is where the initial hot water baseboard radiators came from. With a boiler to now heat and the pump water through the hollow chasms, homeowners could enjoy more consistent heating than steam from a wall system. Plus, it took up less space.

Though baseboard heaters are a wonderful invention brought about by intuitive, intellectual minds, they don’t tend to be the most beautiful to look at. At EZ Snap™ Covers, we understand this and seek to supply you with the stylish baseboard radiator covers to pull your home out of the 19^th century.

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