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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered 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 out through a wall or roof. These can be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage instantly, 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. 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 efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a longer place on top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time were a sign of wealth, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace might have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in kitchen and laundry 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 is often a corbeled brick crown, where 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 out of the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not great for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.

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, some states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality management issues due to the amount of moisture that they release in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands. Other wider accessories can include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on chilly days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace performers of the period 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, as opposed to their dimensions.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the flame 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 notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so as the 15th century. The best way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 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 much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass while the fire is burning. In this time period the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a 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 set