Vintage Home Heating
Instructions: Remember coal furnaces, radiators, and the milkman-style oil deliveries?
- 1.
What type of heating system used hot water or steam piped through cast iron units placed along the walls of rooms?
ASpace heatersBRadiatorsCWall furnacesDBaseboard heaters - 2.
Before natural gas became common, what fuel did many American homes burn in their basement furnaces through the 1940s?
AKeroseneBPropaneCCoalDWood pellets - 3.
What was the name for the metal grate or register in the floor of many homes that allowed warm air from the furnace to rise into rooms?
AA radiator capBA furnace plateCA heat registerDA vent cover - 4.
What type of portable heater used a glowing ceramic element and was commonly placed in chilly rooms in the 1960s and 1970s?
AA baseboard heaterBAn oil-filled radiatorCA radiant space heaterDA kerosene heater - 5.
What did families in rural areas commonly burn in a cast iron stove to heat their homes well into the mid-20th century?
ACharcoalBWoodCNatural gasDPeat - 6.
What was the purpose of the 'damper' on a wood-burning stove or fireplace?
ATo cool down the fireBTo control airflow and the rate of burningCTo filter smokeDTo add moisture to the air - 7.
What appliance, often shaped like a flat pan with a long handle, was filled with hot coals and placed between bed sheets to warm the bed?
AA bed warmer or warming panBA hot plateCA warming stoneDA heat brick - 8.
What was the occupation of the person who regularly delivered heating oil to homes via a truck with a hose?
AThe fuel attendantBThe oil delivery manCThe gas manDThe heating inspector - 9.
What revolutionary home heating technology, invented by Honeywell, allowed homeowners to automatically control their furnace temperature?
AA heat pumpBA pilot lightCA boiler gaugeDA thermostat - 10.
What room in the house typically housed the coal furnace or boiler in older homes?
AThe basement or cellarBThe back porchCThe garageDThe utility room - 11.
What heating method used hot water pipes embedded in the floor to warm rooms from below?
AConvection heatingBForced air heatingCRadiant floor heatingDSteam heating - 12.
What small blue flame on a gas furnace had to stay lit at all times and was a common source of worry for homeowners?
AThe burner flameBThe pilot lightCThe ignition sparkDThe gas jet - 13.
What type of stove, popular in the 1950s, burned kerosene and featured a round burner visible through a mica window?
AA Franklin stoveBA box stoveCA potbelly stoveDA kerosene parlor heater - 14.
What was the rubber or fabric item filled with hot water and placed under blankets to keep feet warm on cold nights?
AA hot water bottleBA warming padCA thermal sockDA heat pack - 15.
What type of home heating system, which became dominant in post-war suburban homes, used a blower to push heated air through ducts?
AForced-air heatingBHydronic heatingCRadiant heatDSteam heat