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Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed from the ground, in caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor flame pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where a open flame burned with the smoke climbing into the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside through a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke out. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, as they were expensive to develop and maintain.

The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer place at the top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on supplying quality stone. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to a degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to contain 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 upon the plan.

Historically they have been used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses.

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On the exterior there's frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function 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 at the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

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

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and gas fuel sources. Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the USA, several states and local counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality management issues because of the amount of moisture they discharge in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the area that is 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 cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place within the house. These fire pits were generally centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace performers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower that transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be increased with the use of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated notion though 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 air. The best method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you detect you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the flame is burning. In this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from its surface. Based on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace glass