I had an old boiler system in my basement. Metal grates were all over my living room floor. The boiler would heat and the warm air would rise up through the grates. That is how my lower part of my home got heated. It actually was quite effective. The house felt toasty and I never seemed to have cold spots. I hated the look of those metal grates though. It was so ugly and you were limited on where furniture went. So I covered up most of them but the main, central grate. When there was only one opening for heating, it was no longer as effective. I then was ready to toss the boiler once it died. After that the last grate was covered up and I had a beautiful living room. I treated myself to a gas fireplace with a faux wood burning fire. It had a huge wooden mantle and a glass front. It really was pretty. It wasn’t so good at heating though. I had to get a supplemental heater for the kitchen because it just couldn’t do the job. The living room always had cold spots and the heat really liked to linger on the ceiling. It was kind of a pain. Now I am on my third heating system. When the fireplace died I ripped it out and went back to a boiler system. Now though, I have piping within my floorboards. The boiler heats water that flows through the pipes for a heating effect. You don’t see anything, but you feel the heat. It is a way better way to provide heating in the home.