The Development of Radiators and Heated Towel Rails Over Time
In the 19th century, America and Europe were crazy for all things steam: railroad steam engines, transatlantic ships, machinery in large factories. It was only natural, then, that someone should decide that steam would be an excellent way to heat a building. The benefits of the steam radiator were great. In large cities, like New York, there were public steam utility companies, piping steam directly into commercial buildings and homes all over the city, which eliminated the need for fireplaces or stoves in every room of a house or building. It did not take as much wood or coal to create steam heat as it took to heat a room from a stove, making it much cheaper to heat large buildings. Most homes typically did not have a fireplace or stove in all of the bedrooms, but radiators were easily installed in even small rooms, which kept bedrooms from being much colder than the communal parts of the house. Steam radiators also eliminated smoky rooms caused by poorly-designed or poorly maintained fireplaces, eliminated the need to carry in wood or coal and carry out ashes, and greatly reduced the risk of a house or city-wide fire by eliminating the multiple fires it took to heat even a modest home. It also reduced air pollution in the large cities.
The first radiators were merely practical, but it did not take the decorative Victorians long to begin to design beautiful radiators. The plain cast iron tubes of the radiator were redesigned with flowers and leaves and vines scrolling all along them. They might also be painted to match the d