Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed from the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a 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 coated 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 out through a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use immediately, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.
Instead it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.Historically they have been utilized 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.
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On the exterior there is often 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 hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated 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 could pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, 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 wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric 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. 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 restricting these types of fireplaces. They need to be suitably 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 air, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.
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As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.
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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which was 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 size.
From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance to houses.Ambiance Inspiration Gas Fireplace Inserts Cleveland Video
Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced with the use 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 made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. The best method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you detect you're turning the thermostat up or down.
Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass while the fire is burning. During this time the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.gas insert fireplace
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