its done that way in Russia as well, at least in the city. the downside is they have to turn off the hot water occasionally to do cleaning, which means no hot water for 1-3 days.
in village homes they use pechkas [1]. a giant radiant heater that uses firewood and sits in the middle of the home. most are adapted so that you can use them to cook too.
In moscow, they do this in what is (nominally) summer for almost 2 weeks. I thought the water would be chilly, but if I took brisk showers I'd be ok. The first time I tried I nearly gave myself hypothermia -- no exaggeration, I was under a blanket unable to stop shaking for 10 minutes -- and figured out why I saw kettles in people's bathrooms when I was a guest in their apartments. Thank god for the gym which was in a different area of the city.
in village homes they use pechkas [1]. a giant radiant heater that uses firewood and sits in the middle of the home. most are adapted so that you can use them to cook too.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_oven