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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the ground, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of early indoor flame pits was that they produced hazardous or irritating smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into raised hearths in buildings, but venting smoke depended on open windows or openings in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing an area and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle 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 issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it possible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer place at the top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected to the room. Rumford's design is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was still placed on providing quality stone. Stone fireplaces now have been a sign of wealth, which to some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust to escape.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves 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 than with the traditional masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

Organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to various studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not good for you.

Kinds of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass flame 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 gas fireplaces.

Masonry and prefabricated fireplaces can be fueled by wood, natural gas, biomass and propane fuel sources. 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 limiting these types of fireplaces. They must be suitably sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality control issues because of the amount of moisture they discharge into the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast assortment of accessories are used with fireplaces, which range between countries, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in current Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They have been used for heat on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, 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 renowned fireplace designers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been 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 newest fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround and the insert. The surround consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The fit was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which 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 with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal that sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. The ideal way to gauge the output signal of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly 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 can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and may reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the air. 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 big glass window while the flame is burning. During this time the structure, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace inserts