radiative heating is the fires that many homes used to (and may still do) use to keep warm during the winter. We don’t have to touch the fire to feel its warmth (that would be conduction, and not recommended!). When we face the flames we feel the warmth of the fire on our faces due to the radiation being given off, even when we are too far away to feel the hot air blowing around the coals. Radiative heating from the sun warms the soil in spring and leads to the new growth of plants each year as seeds in the soil germinate.