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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the floor, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. 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 didn't come into general use immediately, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased the grate of the fireplace, improving the venting and airflow system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer place on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected to the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

Instead it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of prosperity, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks 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 is not great for you.

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. In the USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. There are also air quality management problems because of the amount of moisture they discharge in the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Cannes Infrared Electric Fireplace Media Console in Antique Oak 23MM378O103

Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a large glass while the flame is burning. In this time the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.media fireplace