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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out via a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general use instantly, however, as they were expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected to the room. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based on the design.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or alternative flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

Organizations like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.

In the USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management issues due to the amount of moisture that they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the air. The ideal way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace insert wood