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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burned with 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 during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general use immediately, however, since 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 important 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 basement and venting out a lengthier area at the very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation 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 depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based on the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a base, 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 is often 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 functions to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

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

Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing electric fireplaces.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. 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 safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the interior, common in recent Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes utilized to capture and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories can include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern fireplaces. They have been used for warmth on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within the home. These fire pits were generally based within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, necessitating a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burned, and was built of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were believed to add a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units 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 which sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept 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 warm the atmosphere. The ideal 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 though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace doors