History of Energy Sources for Heating and Cooking

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As humans advanced in knowledge and culture, so have our sources of fuel for heating our abodes and cooking our food. These advances are caused by changes in cost, availability, and technological discoveries. Surprisingly some of the fuels from neolithic times are still used today.

The following is a summary of fuels used, when they peaked in usage, and which ones are increasingly used as technology and costs change.

1. WOOD (~1.0 million years ago)

First Used:

~1.0 million years ago (earliest controlled fire evidence from Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa); systematic use by Homo erectus ~790,000-1.0 million years BP

Peak Usage:

1880 in United States (provided 2/3 of industrial and residential fuel); 1940 (22.7% of US homes used wood as primary heat source)

Status:

Still in use globally; experienced resurgence after 1973 oil crisis; currently ~1.5 million households in Australia use firewood as main heating source

2. DUNG (Animal) (~13,000+ years ago)

First Used:

Paleolithic period (~13,000 years ago at Abu Hureyra, Syria; evidence from Theopetra Cave, Greece); Ancient Egypt, Ancient Persia, Mesopotamia (8,500-8,000 BCE with animal domestication)

Peak Usage:

Difficult to determine; widespread historical use continuing through present in many regions

Status:

Still in use extensively in India, Mongolia, Tibet, parts of Africa, Middle East, and rural areas globally

3. PEAT (~Paleolithic period, at least 2,000 years documented)

First Used:

Paleolithic period (evidence from Theopetra Cave, Greece shows use during Middle and Upper Paleolithic); documented use for at least 2,000 years in Europe (Roman period traces in Ireland and Scotland, 7th century CE in Ireland)

Peak Usage:

Ireland - 7th century through mid-20th century; Finland/USSR - large-scale extraction mid-20th century (60-200 MW power plants)

Status:

Ireland phasing down since 2000s; replaced by gas, oil, and electricity in most developed nations by late 20th century

4. COAL (~3,600 years ago)

First Used:

China ~3,600 years ago (systematic mining at Bronze Age sites); sporadic use since late Paleolithic (10,000+ years ago); Romans in Britain 100-200 CE; Hopi Indians in southwestern US by 12th-14th century CE; widespread European use from 13th century

Peak Usage:

United States peaked before 1920; global peak for heating/cooking mid-20th century

Status:

Largely replaced by natural gas, oil, and electricity for domestic heating by 1930s-1950s in developed nations; still used for electricity generation but declining for direct heating/cooking

5. FOSSIL OIL - Petroleum (Ancient use ~4th century BCE; modern 1859)

First Used:

Ancient China (4th century BCE as fuel); Baku, Azerbaijan (9th century CE - oil fields exploited); various ancient civilizations used petroleum seeps for waterproofing, construction; modern petroleum industry began 1859 (Drake's well, Pennsylvania)

Peak Usage:

Mid-20th century to present for transportation; heating oil peaked mid-20th century

Status:

Still heavily used but transitioning away for heating (replaced by natural gas and electricity in many applications)

6. NATURAL GAS (347 CE or earlier in China)

First Used:

Ancient China (347 CE or earlier - bamboo pipelines up to 800 feet deep for salt production); documented in ancient India, Greece, Persia, Iraq; modern commercial use from late 19th century

Peak Usage:

Late 20th-early 21st century

Status:

Currently one of dominant energy sources globally; continuing to grow

7. WHALE OIL (16th-17th century)

First Used:

16th-17th century for commercial lighting purposes; Vauxhall Gardens in London lit with whale oil in 18th century

Peak Usage:

1845-1860s (18 million gallons in 1845 in US)

Status:

Stopped - declined rapidly 1860s-1870s; replaced by kerosene; commercial whaling for oil essentially ended by 1980s with international bans

8. HYDROELECTRIC (Mechanical: ancient; Electrical: 1882)

First Used:

Ancient waterwheels for mechanical power (2,000+ years ago); first hydroelectric plant 1882 (Appleton, Wisconsin)

Peak Usage:

Significant growth early-mid 20th century; currently ~16% of global electricity (14% of global energy)

Status:

Still in use as major renewable energy source; continuing expansion especially in developing nations

9. GEOTHERMAL (Paleolithic bathing; Power: 1958)

First Used:

Paleolithic period (hot springs for bathing); first commercial use 1830 (Hot Springs, Arkansas baths); first geothermal power plant 1958 (Wairakei, New Zealand)

Peak Usage:

Growing, not yet peaked

Status:

Still in use and expanding in geologically active regions (Iceland, New Zealand, parts of US, Japan)

10. NUCLEAR FISSION (1942 first reactor; 1951 first electricity)

First Used:

Discovery 1938 (Otto Hahn); first reactor 1942 (Enrico Fermi, University of Chicago); first electricity generation 1951 (Idaho, USA); commercial production began 1950s

Peak Usage:

Rapid growth 1970s-1980s; accidents (Three Mile Island 1979, Chernobyl 1986) slowed expansion

Status:

Still in use; provides ~10% of global electricity; ~5% of US primary energy

11. SOLAR PV (Photovoltaic) (1954 practical cell; commercial 1950s-60s)

First Used:

Photovoltaic effect discovered 1839 (Becquerel); first practical silicon solar cell 1954 (Bell Labs); first commercial applications 1950s-1960s (space applications); terrestrial commercial use accelerated 1970s-1980s

Peak Usage:

Rapid growth 2000s-present; not yet peaked

Status:

Still in use; fastest-growing energy source; accounted for >50% of new US electricity capacity in 2023

12. SOLAR THERMAL (Ancient mirrors; modern 1767; power 1982)

First Used:

Ancient use of concentrated sunlight (mirrors ~700 BCE); first solar collector 1767; solar water heaters late 1800s (1891 commercial patent); first commercial solar thermal power plant 1982 (Hesperia, California - 1.1 MW)

Peak Usage:

Growing, not yet peaked

Status:

Still in use; widespread for water heating; utility-scale solar thermal plants operational

13. WIND POWER (Electricity) (Mechanical: ~5,000 BCE; Electrical: late 1800s)

First Used:

Mechanical use ~5,000 BCE (sailing boats, Nile River); windmills ~200 BCE (China, Persia); electricity generation late 1800s-early 1900s; large-scale commercial wind farms 1980s (California)

Peak Usage:

Mechanical use peaked early 20th century; electricity generation growing rapidly (not yet peaked)

Status:

Still in use; major renewable energy source; rapid expansion globally; produces >2,100 TWh annually

14. TIDAL POWER (Medieval mills; modern 1966)

First Used:

Tidal mills documented in medieval period; modern tidal power plants mid-20th century (La Rance, France 1966 - first major tidal power station)

Peak Usage:

Minimal commercial deployment; not yet peaked

Status:

Still in use but limited deployment; experimental/pilot projects

15. NUCLEAR FUSION (Not yet achieved commercially)

First Used:

Not yet achieved for commercial power generation; experimental facilities only (ITER under construction; expected operational 2030s)

Peak Usage:

N/A - not commercially operational

Status:

Research and development phase; no commercial use for heating or cooking