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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out via a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put 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, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out 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 the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fireplace might have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, 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 function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for 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, some states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality management problems due to the amount of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between states, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in current Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes.

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

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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace components include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced 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 made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the air. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass window while the fire is burning. During this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.wood fireplace surrounds