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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open fire burnt with all the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it out through a ceiling or wall. These can be put against rock walls, rather than taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage instantly, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier place on top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox that has been better at drawing the smoke up 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 kitchens.

Instead it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of prosperity, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for its relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based upon the plan.

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

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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the casting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the outside of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated 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 significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not great for you.

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

In the United States, several states and local counties have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality management problems because of the quantity of moisture they discharge into 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 vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in current Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet 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 for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed before the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks. Other wider accessories can consist of log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

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

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround and the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transfers 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 can also be increased by means 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 are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is provided through a big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from its surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.wood fireplace inserts