Bellemeade Electric Fireplace Media Console in Burnished Walnut 23MM774W502

Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the ground, in caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.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 located hearth, where a open fire burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These can be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer place at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

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

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, 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 casting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

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

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

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the quantity of moisture they discharge in the room air, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally used to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument stands.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to heat the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass window while the fire is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace media console