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Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burned with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. 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, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the venting and airflow system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a lengthier area at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time were a sign of wealth, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure 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 space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in laundry and kitchen 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 is frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the 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 can pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not good for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A couple of kinds are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.

In the USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture that they discharge in the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes utilized to catch and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion 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, designed to warm the air. 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 detect 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 at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a large glass window while the fire is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then equally radiated for many hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.limestone fireplace