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Ancient fire pits were sometimes constructed in the floor, within caves, or in the middle of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of early indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open fire burned 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 covered so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against rock walls, rather than taking up the center of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented 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 provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, as they were expensive to build and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the venting and airflow system. The 18th century saw two major developments in the history of fireplaces. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a lengthier area on top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace with a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the room. Rumford's layout is the foundation for modern kitchens.

Instead it depended on simple layouts with little unnecessary ornamentation. From 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 have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a construction 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 efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses. A fireplace may have the following: a base, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (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.

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On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, in which the projecting courses of brick act as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far larger difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the crown or cap.

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

Kinds of fireplacesManufactured 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 electric fireboxes.

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 either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, several states and local counties have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. Additionally, there are air quality management problems due to the amount of moisture they release into the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesA vast range of accessories are used with fireplaces, ranging between states, regions, and historical periods. For the inside, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate heat, to protect the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

Over time, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were 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 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 this time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that has been used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

From the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be 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 produced from cast iron, but are also manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended to warm the air. The best method to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency rating. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first phase the initial heat is provided through a big glass window while the fire is burning. In this time period the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for many hours during the next stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to guarantee a constant room temperature.electric fireplace insert