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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed 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 covered so rain and snow would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These can be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised 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 improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made 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 warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based on the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, 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 casting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

Types 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.A couple of kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control problems due to the amount of moisture they discharge into the room air, and oxygen sensor 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 place that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly 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 gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround and the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burnt, and was built 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 incorporate a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be 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 is not, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace inserts