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Historical fire pits were sometimes constructed in the floor, within caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced toxic and/or annoying smoke inside the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open fire burnt with all the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated 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 stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, 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 outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage instantly, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer place at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended 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 wealth, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.

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

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On the exterior there's often 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 cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

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

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical 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 restricting these kinds of fireplaces. There are also air quality control problems because of the quantity of moisture that they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the place that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, along with fire puppies, all of 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 sometimes used to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. Other wider accessories can include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more 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 collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace performers of this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burnt, and was built of cast iron frequently backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into houses.

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Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area 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 made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept although with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. The ideal method to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a big glass while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the second phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace surround