Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, in caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain wouldn't enter.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general usage immediately, however, as 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. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a longer area on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
Instead it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of wealth, 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 its relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.Historically they were 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.
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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting 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 outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.
The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not great for you.Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for 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, some states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the quantity of moisture that they release into the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.
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As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more people to collect around it.
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Many defects 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 designers 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 lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.
From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 components, the surround as well as the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance to houses.Dimplex Sussex Electric Fireplace White at Hayneedle Video
Some fireplace units incorporate a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space 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 can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so as the 15th century. The ideal way to gauge the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.
Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 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 much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. 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, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.dimplex electric fireplace
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