A couple of hundred years ago, people had to make do with stoves and fireplaces for their heat, which was not only inefficient but dangerous. Then, in the mid-19th century, a breakthrough emerged: Franz San Galli invented the radiator. Here’s some radiator history and how it changed HVAC as we know it.
Early Radiator History
While an American named Joseph Nason had previously obtained a few patents for rudimentary steam heating devices, the radiator as we know it was developed by Franz San Galli. San Galli lived in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the 1850s. As the owner of a mechanical workshop, he first developed equipment for water-supply and sewage systems before his major crowning achievement, the hotbox. We know it today as the first radiator.
A small network of cast-iron pipes were placed in a room. Water was boiled to create steam, which would flow through these pipes. The metal pipes would absorb the heat from the steam, which was used to heat the room via radiation and convection.
San Galli’s radiator design quickly gained success throughout Russia. Within a few years of his patent, he was supplying heating systems to a variety of important institutions, such as the Alexandrinsky Theatre and the Imperial Academy of Arts. From there, the radiator spread throughout the rest of Europe — and eventually, the world.
Radiator Evolution
Radiator history has come a long way since San Galli’s original design. Later radiators used water instead of steam, which was considered safer. Molded wrought iron pipes gave way to pressed steel – less decorative than Victorian-era radiators, but they were cheaper and easier to manufacture.
Today’s radiators run on electricity. Rather than water or steam, they use special oils that maximize heat-transfer efficiency. The oils don’t burn — and therefore never have to be replaced. Radiators are less popular today than in the 1850s, but as a safe, reliable, and low-maintenance heating option, they still do the trick.
To learn more about radiators and other HVAC issues, contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. Lorain, Elyria, and Oberlin trust us for quality home-comfort solutions.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area