Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or in the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made flames is present on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke climbing into the port in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain would not enter.
Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to stop smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside through a wall or roof. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be warmed.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the problem of fumes, more reliably venting smoke out. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use instantly, however, as they were more expensive to build and maintain.In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, increased the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting a longer place on very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing the smoke up and from the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant heat 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 conventional spectra based on stone and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple layouts with small unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way into the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of wealth, which to a degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made from brick, stone or metal made to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, based upon the design.Historically they have been used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or alternative 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 from the outside of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a far greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, which soaks up all but the 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 great, but it is not good for you.Kinds of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.
Ventless Fireplaces (duct free/room-venting fireplaces) are fueled by either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some states and local counties have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control issues due to the quantity of moisture that they discharge into the room atmosphere, and oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.
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Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to 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 generally centered within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.
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Many defects were found in early fireplace designs. Together with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most famous fireplace designers of this period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a kind of fireplace design that was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.
By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of 2 components, the surround as well as the insert. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was built of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were thought to add a cozy ambiance into homes.NapoleonGasFireplaceGDS50StoveFreestandingLPNGPropanenaturallarge Video
Some fireplace components include a blower which transfers 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 by means of a fireback, a piece of metal that sits behind the flame and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the impact of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace isn't, and never was, intended 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 signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.
Most elderly fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80% in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first phase the first heat is offered through a large glass window while the flame is burning. In this time period the construction, constructed of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.free standing gas fireplace
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