Historical fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke inside the house.Fire pits grown into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against stone walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, since they were more expensive to build and maintain.Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer area at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the building. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.
Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of wealth, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending on the plan.Historically they have been utilized for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace might have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a throat, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.
Related Images with Gas Fireplaces Archives Hot Tubs, Fireplaces, Patio Furniture Heat N Sweep Okemos Michigan
VentFree Gas Fireplaces Are They Safe? HomeAdvisor
On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside 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 metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the 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 various studies, fireplaces could pose a substantial health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it is not good for you.Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made out of sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A few 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 counties have laws limiting these types of fireplaces. There are also air quality control issues due to the amount of moisture they discharge in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security 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 to the outside of the structure.
Gas Fireplace Photo Gallery Mendota Hearth
As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more 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 home. These fire pits were usually based within a space, allowing more individuals to collect around it.
Gas Fireplace Santa Rosa, Gas Fireplace Insert Warming Trends
Gas Fireplace Photo Gallery Mendota Hearth
Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. The most famous fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.
By the 1800s most new fireplaces were composed of two components, the surround as well as the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The insert was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance to homes.Gas Fireplace Photo Gallery Mendota Hearth Video
Some fireplace components incorporate a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced 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 manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the air. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The ideal method to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you detect you are turning the thermostat down or up.
Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning 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 large as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating system in two stages. During the first phase the initial heat is offered through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This heat is then evenly radiated for many hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.gas fireplace
No comments:
Post a Comment