Everburning Fireplace, Radiator Technology
Historical Equivalent: Fireplace, Radiator
Eletech heating was first introduced with the Everburning Fireplace, which didn’t require as much time to start, didn’t use coal or wood, and was safer than a traditional fireplace. They became more popular among the middle and upper middle class, who didn’t have as many servants to prepare and tend the fireplaces in all the rooms, freeing their time for other duties. They are also popular in businesses, such as inns and taverns, that might otherwise use a traditional fireplace for heating.
Intrepid inventors quickly began looking for a way to heat homes without the use of fireplaces. The first attempt, by dwarven craftsman Ulfred Redforge, used Smoke elementals. However, this was abandoned after leaks in the heating pipes caused dizziness, fainting, and, in one case, death from the noxious fumes the elemental was made of.
All further attempts centered on the fire elementals which were already in use in the Everburning Fireplace. Instead of being bound within a fireplace, half-orc inventor Pax Grondyr bound them within a contained stove, which heated water to move through the pipes. A secondary Air elemental was bound in order to move a pump that circulates the heated water through the pipes.
Officially released only two years ago, Radiators have become one of the ‘must have’ items in every aristocratic household. Safer than a fireplace, and able to be run all the time, without needing to wait for a fireplace to heat the room, some of the newest homes constructed no longer even feature a fireplace in many of the rooms.
Rarity. Everburning fireplaces are found in most middle class and up homes, though Radiators are quickly becoming the norm in noble and aristocratic households.
Bound Elemental. Fire (Everburning Fireplace), Fire & Air (Radiator)
What do they look like?
Most Everburning Fireplaces were retrofitted into the existing fireplace in the home or business. Instead of a log holder, a metal cage containing a small fire elemental was installed. This could be shuttered or opened for more or less heat, as desired.
Constructed of cast iron and designed with intricate scrolled detail, Radiators are usually placed under windows and in bathrooms. The boiler, which heats the water for the radiators, is generally placed in the kitchen or cellar, and is a simple cast iron stove with a bound fire elemental inside. The elemental is usually small in size, with large homes sometimes having multiple boilers. Beside the boiler is the pump housing the air elemental that moves the water through the pipes.
How are they operated?
Turning them off/on are a simple task (Int Check, DC 5), but repairing or altering either of these require a proficiency in Tinker's Tools and are a DC 15 Int check
Where are they found?
Some upper middle class and middle class families may have replaced some or all of their traditional fireplaces with an Everburning one. Most wealthy and aristocratic families have replaced all of their traditional fireplaces with Everburning ones (except those in the servants quarters). All but the poorest businesses, including many taverns and inns, have also replaced their traditional fireplaces with Everburning ones.
Only owned by the most wealthy, radiators are the newest eletech and are far better at distributing heat throughout the home than a fireplace.
