Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the floor, in caves, or in the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open flame 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 covered so rain and snow would not enter.
Additionally throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out through a wall or roof. These can be put against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were expensive to build and maintain.The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place at the very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox that was better at drawing up the smoke and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.
The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a sign of prosperity, which to a degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or alternative flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a base, 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 route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.
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 substantial health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not good for you.Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.
Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local businesses have laws limiting 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 amount of moisture that they release into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.
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As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually 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 was 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 size.
By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of 2 parts, the surround and the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance to houses.Dimplex Kenton 49Inch Electric Fireplace White SMP130WST : ShoppersChoice.com Video
Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased 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 concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. 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 as the 15th century. The best method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.
Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the fire is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then equally radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.dimplex electric fireplace
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