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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 were a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which divides up all but the most violent 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 significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A couple of kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical 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 gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the quantity of moisture they discharge in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally used to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were generally centered within a space, allowing more people to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround as well as the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased by means 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 notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since 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 score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as 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 high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace decor