Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed in the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burnt with the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.
Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general usage instantly, however, since they were more 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 which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 sign of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.Historically they have been 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 other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.
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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.
Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces could pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not good for you.Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.
Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the quantity of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.
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Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.
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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers 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 a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.
By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the add. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.Classic Flame Lexington Electric Fireplace Mantel Surround Video
Some fireplace units include a blower which transports 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 enhanced with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire 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 complicated concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. The ideal method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.
Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time period the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace mantles
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