eli5: Why are radiators in houses often situated under a window- surely this is the worst place and the easiest way to lose all the heat?

Question

eli5: Why are radiators in houses often situated under a window- surely this is the worst place and the easiest way to lose all the heat?

In: 2851

Answer 1

I actually know the answer to this! It dates back to the 1918 influenza pandemic. Folks were told that they needed to keep their windows open to ventilate their houses. So they started putting radiators under the windows because back then you couldn’t really regulate the temperatures and that way it would still be warm but they could have the windows open as well in sick rooms. I went to an architectural Museum that explains this! So cool that I get to use this random crazy bit of knowledge.