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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built in the ground, within caves, or at the center of a hut or dwelling. Evidence of ancient, 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 inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The great hall typically had a centrally situated hearth, where a 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 covered so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also during the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were invented to prevent smoke from dispersing a room and vent it outside via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against rock walls, rather than taking up the middle of the space, and this allowed smaller rooms to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe in the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it possible to give the fireplace a draft, and made it possible to place fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings handily. They did not come into general usage immediately, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace which greatly enhanced the efficacy of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting out a longer area at the very top. In 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 quantity of radiant heat projected to the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern kitchens.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took to a more traditional spectra based on rock and deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. From the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on providing quality gems. Stone fireplaces now have been a symbol of prosperity, which to some degree is still the idea today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal made to include a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance they create and also for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficacy, based on the plan.

Historically they were used for heating a home, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.

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On the exterior there is often a corbeled brick crown, where the projecting courses of brick function as a drip course to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A cap, hood, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain in the chimney is a far greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. Some 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 could pose a significant health risk. The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it's not great for you.

Types of fireplacesArtificial fireplaces are made with sheet glass or metal fire boxes.Electric fireplaces can be built-in replacements for either gas or wood 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 USA, some states and local businesses have laws limiting these kinds of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control problems due to the amount of moisture that they discharge in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are security essentials. Direct vent fireplaces have been fueled by either liquid propane or natural gas. They are completely sealed in the place that's heated, and vent all exhaust gasses to the outside of the structure.

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AccessoriesFor the inside, common in recent Western civilizations include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, and fire dogs, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or fire grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel to your fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are occasionally utilized to capture and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. For fireplace tending, tools include pokers, bellows, tongs, shovels, brushes and tool stands.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than modern fireplaces. They were used for heat on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the home. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more people to collect around it.

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Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. 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 was smaller, more brightly colored, with a emphasis on the level of the substances used in their construction, instead of their size.

From the 1800s newest fireplaces were composed of two parts, the surround and the insert. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The insert was fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron often backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing warmth, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to bring a cozy ambiance into homes.

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Some fireplace units include a blower which transfers more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, leading to a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency can also be enhanced by means of a fireback, a piece of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but can also be manufactured from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complicated concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficiency tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to heat the air. The best method to estimate the output of a fireplace is if you detect you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity for example in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces may also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as high as 80 percent in heating the air. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a large fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is offered through a large glass window while the flame is burning. During this time period the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This warmth is then evenly radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window just offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to guarantee a constant room temperature.fireplace hearth