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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a open flame burned with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These could be put against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use instantly, however, since they were more expensive to develop and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved 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 using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Instead it relied on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces at this time have been a symbol of wealth, 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 the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, based upon the plan.

Historically they have been used 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.

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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 route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the crown or cap.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for wood or gas 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 electric fireplaces.

Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture they release into the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed in the area that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA wide range of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity 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 served 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 ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big 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 which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly colored, with an emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround and the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion 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 heat the atmosphere. 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 if you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These modified fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the fire is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace mantels