Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.
Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, 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 venting and airflow system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.
Instead it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.Historically they were utilized 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 other flue allows exhaust to escape.
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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.
The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not good for you.Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A couple of kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.
Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture that they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.
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As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served 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 ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.
From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 components, the surround and the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit 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 age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.Rumford Fireplaces Video
Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the flame 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 complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The best method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.
Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. During this time the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace pictures
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