Under Floor Heating

The Romans are mostly credited with the creation of underfloor heating, however archaeological evidence suggests that the use of under floor heating originated in Southern Asia as much as 5000 years BC. Evidence also exists of under floor heating systems in Korea, called Ondol, that date back to 37BC - 668 AD.

The system the Romans used was based on hypocaust (meaning "heat from below"). The floor was raised above the ground by pillars, called pilae stacks, and spaces were left inside the walls so that hot air and smoke from the furnace would pass through these enclosed areas and out of flues in the roof, thereby heating but not polluting the interior of the room.

The Korean Ondol system was similar, however the main components of the traditional ondol are a firebox or stove accessible from an adjoining room - typically kitchen or master bedroom - a raised masonry floor underlain by horizontal smoke passages, and a vertical, freestanding chimney on the opposite exterior providing a draft. The heated floor is supported by stone piers or baffles to distribute the smoke, covered by stone slabs, clay and an impervious layer such as oiled paper. read more

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