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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, within caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits grown into raised hearths in structures, but venting smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow would not enter.

Additionally during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from spreading through a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These could be placed against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to place fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general usage immediately, however, since they were more expensive to build and maintain.

The 18th century saw two important developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a longer place on top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing up the smoke and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the amount of radiant warmth projected into the room. Rumford's design is the basis for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more conventional spectra based on stone and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Rather it depended 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 placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now were a symbol of wealth, which to some degree remains the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, based upon the design.

Historically they have been used for heating a dwelling, 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, in which the projecting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, 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 like the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology warn that, according to different studies, fireplaces can pose a significant health threat. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell great, but it's not great for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A few types 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 kinds of fireplaces. They must be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality management issues because of the quantity of moisture they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that is heated, and vent all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the interior, common in current Western civilizations comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, pellet baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes utilized to catch and re-radiate heat, to protect the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands. Other wider accessories may include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and more.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for heat on cold days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually based within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came large scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was 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 parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides affirms, typically in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance to houses.

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Some fireplace components incorporate a blower which transports 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 is also increased with the use of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best way to estimate the output of a fireplace is in case you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the first heat is provided through a big glass while the fire is burning. During this time period the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from its surface. Based on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace grates