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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, in caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. 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 did not come into general usage instantly, however, as they were more expensive to build 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 important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area at the top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

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 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 notion today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or alternative flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which divides up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial 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 few 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 USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality management issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast range of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories can consist of log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

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

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transfers 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 increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to heat the air. The best method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're 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 such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass while the flame is burning. In this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from its surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace wood