Underfloor heating from the past: Roman Hypocaust

One of the first structured examples of heat exchange is the Roman hypocaust. This is an ancient central heating system. In ancient Rome it was used to heat baths, public buildings and private homes. Hot air and smoke from the furnace circulate through the floors and walls, spreading the heat through the building.

The heat from the oven is distributed through small spaces between the walls and floors to heat the building. Nowadays, heat transfer can also take other forms. It comes in many different shapes and is used for many more applications than just heating a building. In everyday life, it enables appliances such as ovens, air conditioners and refrigerators to heat or cool. It enables us to convert heat into electricity, and heat transfer is indispensable in industry: materials are heated to melt, shape or chemically process them. A deep understanding of heat transfer enables us to control this phenomenon and make the most of it.

Photo source:
Pascal RADIGUE, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilettes_et_praefurnium_maison_grand_p%C3%A9ristyle.jpg