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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, in caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burnt with 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 rain and snow would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it out through a wall or roof. These could be put against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed 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 also made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, as they were more expensive to build 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 chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the plan.

Historically they were utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, 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, in which the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

Organizations like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces could pose a substantial health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electrical mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas 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 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 properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector 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 is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all 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 occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories may consist of log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were generally based within a room, allowing more individuals 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 famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age 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 area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so as the 15th century. The best method to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the flame is burning. In this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace wood