Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burned with the smoke rising to the port 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.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use instantly, 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 airflow and venting 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 efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer area at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of prosperity, which to some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the plan.Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, 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 casting courses of brick act as a drip route 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 at the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.
Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.
Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local businesses have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the amount of moisture that they release in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally 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 intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.
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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.
From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.Chimney Sweep Minneapolis Fireplace Cleaning Video
Some fireplace units include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which 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 complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so as the 15th century. The best method to gauge 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, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace cleaning
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