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Historical fire pits were sometimes built in the floor, in caves, or in the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires exists on all five inhabited continents. The disadvantage of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated toxic and/or irritating smoke within the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but venting smoke relied on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally located hearth, where a open flame burnt with the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to allow the roof vents to be coated so rain and snow wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to stop smoke from spreading through a room and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These could be put against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be warmed.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to give the fireplace a draft, and also made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not come into general use 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 enhanced the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a lengthier place on very top. At the later 18th century, Count Rumford made a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which has been better at drawing the smoke up and out of the construction. The shallow design also improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected into the space. Rumford's design is the basis for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it depended on simple designs with little 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 remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made of brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending upon the design.

Historically they have been utilized for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, home overmantel, a damper, a smoke chamber, a neck, 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 function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A hood, cap, or shroud serves to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a much greater difficulty in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. Some chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated into the cap or crown.

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

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made out of sheet metal or glass fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electrical fireboxes.A couple of types 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 either gel, liquid propane, bottled gas or natural gas. In the United States, some 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 problems because of the amount of moisture they release in the room atmosphere, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed from the area that's heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western cultures comprise grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire dogs, all of which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are occasionally utilized to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metal frames placed in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ashes. For fireplace tending, tools comprise pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and instrument racks.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of requirement to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to modern 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 based within a room, allowing more individuals to gather around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, came big scale housing developments, requiring a standardization of fireplaces. The most renowned fireplace designers of the time were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design that was used for generations. It was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the level of the materials used in their construction, as opposed to their size.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of 2 components, the surround as well as the add. The encircle consisted of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, granite or marble. The insert was where the fire burned, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with ornamental tiles. In addition to providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units incorporate a blower that transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated space and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased with the use of a fireback, a piece 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 notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider only the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to heat the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a toaster, and has done so since the 15th century. The best way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you are turning the thermostat down or up.

Most older fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces still possess an efficiency rating of 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by adding special heavy fireboxes designed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are usually equipped with a large fire window, enabling an efficient heating process in two phases. During the first stage the first heat is offered through a big glass while the fire is burning. In this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window just provide heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to 2 daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace inserts electric