Brief History of Heating Water

A Brief History Of Heating Water

Of all the leisure activities in ancient Rome, bathing was considered an important part of the daily regimen for both men and women. Public facilities resembling modern spas or health clubs embodied the ideal Roman way of urban life.

Small bathhouses, called ‘Balneae’, might be privately owned but were open to the public. The large baths, called ‘Thermae’, were owned by the state and often covered several city blocks. Some even included a gymnasium. Fees for both were very reasonable.

Roman rulers were expected to provide social and recreational activities to their citizens and a Thermae would be a pet project. The larger baths could house up to sixteen hundred people at one time and included individual rooms for cold, hot, and warm baths. The baths were often made of basalt, granite, or alabaster and featured ornate ceilings, porticoes, pillars, and statues. Gardens, courtyards, and libraries inspired refl ections on the pleasures of Roman society.

The baths were ideal for social gatherings and were like visiting a modern club or community center where you would hear neighborhood gossip, business discussions, and intellectual conversations. Even wealthy Romans who owned private baths in their homes or country villas, would frequent public bathhouses in cities and towns throughout the empire. Roman engineers in the early part of the fi rst millennium devised ingenious systems of heating public baths and steam rooms. Water from aqueducts fl owed into huge cisterns which were divided into numerous chambers. It then fl owed by gravity through underground pipes to a complicated distribution system that carried water to cold pools, or to boilers over wood fi res where it was heated for the warm and hot baths.

The floors of these buildings were raised off the ground by pillars and spaces were left inside the walls so that hot air from the furnace could circulate into the open areas. Rooms requiring the most heat were built facing the southwest where the sun light was the strongest, and were close to the furnace so heat could be increased easily just by adding more wood.

A network of tunnels was used to store the enormous amounts of wood required to fuel the furnaces and there could easily be 50 furnaces in a large bath. Some would heat the water and others would heat the steam rooms by a hot air system beneath the fl oor. Outlets in the fl oor of each room led to drains and underground pipes that took wastewater
to municipal drains. 

At a time when people had no source of heat at home, the public baths were often a place to keep warm during the cooler months. Mix that with the opportunity to socialize with your friends and associates, and it is easy to see how a Roman bath could be an enjoyable experience.

Heating Your Pool

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the 60s and 70s, summer brought wonderful adventures to our backyard and community pools. Fun and swim team practice were daily events. As kids, we were delighted when the water temperature was above 70° and by the end of summer we were lucky if it was 78°. There were very few options in those days to keep your pool warm so if you loved to swim, you braved the temperature.

Today, water-heating technology is much more advanced and you have numerous options available to heat your pool. First, what is a comfortable temperature for you? Are the high 70s or low 80s fi ne in the summer time? If so, Solar Sun Rings, should suit your needs.

Do you prefer it warmer in the mid - high 80s or 90s when the weather is cold? If this is the case, a heater is a must and you can choose electric, gas, or solar heating systems. Just remember that these are expensive luxuries and each has its advantages and disadvantages.

NOTE: Heating water is measured in BTU’s (British Thermal Unit) which is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.