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Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with the smoke climbing into the vent 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 dispersing a room and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use immediately, however, since they were more 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. The 18th century saw two major 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. 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 designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based on the plan.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry 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 often a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not great for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric 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. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management issues because of the amount of moisture they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

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, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also 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 produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so as the 15th century. The best way to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantels and surrounds