Although central heating is considered to be a modern day thing, it dates back to ancient Greece. The definition of central heating is a system that provides warmth to either the whole of the inside (or just a segment) of a house/building.

It is believed that in around 350 BC the homes of the wealthy and the Great Temples in the ancient times of Greece were heated by warm air that was circulated through flue systems in the floor. Today, because we have electricity to power blowers, forced-air systems warm billions of homes all around the world.

A forced-air heating system pulls the air in a room through piping to a flame/furnace, where the air is warmed up and filtered. This heated breeze is then pushed back into the house via more piping. A lot of manufacturers will make multiple different sizes in each model. These systems come in different models, like “downflow,” “upflow” and “horizontal” versions designed to accommodate a range of space limitations.

These systems are sometimes used with an AC (air conditioning) unit, air filter and a humidifier. The pipes themselves will normally be made from metal wrapped in insulating foam to keep in as much heat as possible.

Central heating and local heating differ because the heat is generated in one place, like a furnace room. The heat then begins circulating, usually either by steam thats being pushed through pipe work, by air that is being forced through piping or by water thats being forced through piping.

In many parts of northern Europe, where most people do not need air conditioning in their homes because of the fairly cold weather they have there anyway. Most new houses come with installed central heating. Areas like this will usually use district heating, oil-fired systems or gas heaters.

Steam heating systems powered by gas, oil, or coal can are used in parts of the US, Europe and Russia, more so in bigger buildings. Systems of electrical heating are less commonly found and are only used in areas of cheap electricity.