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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the ground, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor flame pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where an open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage instantly, however, since 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 major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.

Rather it relied on simple designs with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time 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 contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the standard masonry chimney, that divides 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 different studies, fireplaces can pose a substantial health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. In the United States, some 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 problems because of the quantity of moisture that they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place within 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 ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround as well as the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also 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 made from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. The best way to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. 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. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.wood fireplace surrounds