Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burnt with all the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.
Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through an area and vent it out through a wall or roof. These can be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage instantly, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier area at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
Instead it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree remains 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 efficacy, depending on the plan.Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, 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 cap, hood, or shroud serves 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 traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. A few 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 various studies, fireplaces could pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not great for you.Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A few types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.
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 businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management issues due to the quantity of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into 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 than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were generally based within a space, allowing more people to collect around it.
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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace designers 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 substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.
By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 components, the surround and the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was built 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 to houses.Dimplex Electric Fireplaces » Mantels » Products » Christina BuiltRite Mantel Video
Some fireplace components 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 is also enhanced with the use 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 made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only 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 way to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you detect you're turning the thermostat down or up.
Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a big glass while the flame is burning. In this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then equally radiated for many hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.dimplex electric fireplaces
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