Historical Musings From Bean

Robert Bean recently posed the question on his Web site, www.healthyheating.com, about the history of radiant heating. It is believed that Roman hypocausts are the earliest form of radiant heat. However, authors of “ Huts and History: The Historical Archaeology of Military Encampment During the American Civil War” make reference to “the Californian System,” an early radiant heating application.

“This intrigued me,” says Bean, “because early settlers of California were of Asian descent.” His further inquiry in “A study of  Chinese Architecture and Planning” by Professor Qinghua Guo illustrates Asians using radiant heating long before the Romans.

Bean promises more to come as he digs deeper into this historical topic.