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Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or at the middle of a hut or home. Evidence of ancient, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they generated hazardous or annoying smoke inside the house.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in structures, but ventilation smoke depended on open windows or holes in roofs. The medieval great hall typically needed a centrally located hearth, where an open flame burned with the smoke rising to the vent in the roof. Louvers were developed during the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be covered so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it out via a ceiling or wall. These can be placed against stone walls, instead of taking up the center of the room, and this allowed smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were invented in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and largely fixed the problem of fumes, more faithfully venting smoke outside. They made it feasible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in multiple rooms in buildings conveniently. They did not 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 airflow and venting system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection room for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. In addition, he improved the airflow by pulling air from a basement and venting out a longer area 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 out of the building. The shallow design improved greatly the amount of radiant heat projected into the space. Rumford's design is the foundation for modern fireplaces.

The Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s took on a more conventional spectra based on rock and also deflected unnecessary ornamentation. Instead it relied on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, in which the emphasis was placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time were a sign of wealth, which to some degree remains the idea today.A fireplace is a construction made from brick, stone or metal designed to include a fire. Fireplaces are utilized for the relaxing ambiance that they create and also for heating a space. Modern fireplaces change in heat efficacy, depending on the plan.

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 other flue allows exhaust to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney crane (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel pub, house 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 often a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the exterior walls. A hood, cap, or shroud functions to keep rainwater from the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much greater problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metal liners compared with the standard masonry chimney, that divides up all but the most violent rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor incorporated 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 could 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 out of sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for wood or gas or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.

In the United States, some states and local businesses have laws restricting these kinds of fireplaces. They need to be properly sized to the area to be heated. There are also air quality control problems due to the quantity of moisture they release into the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon dioxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is 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, along with fire puppies, all of which cradle fuel and accelerate burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a framework, usually of iron bars, to maintain fuel for a fire. Heavy metallic firebacks are sometimes used to catch and re-radiate heat, to safeguard the back of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames placed before the fireplace to contain embers, soot and ash. Other wider accessories can include log baskets, companion sets, coal buckets, cabinet accessories and much more.

As time passes, the intent behind fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. They also served as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were usually centered within a room, allowing more individuals to collect around it.

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Many flaws were found in early fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace designers of the 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 quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two components, the surround as well as the add. The encircle comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, typically in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. In addition to providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian age were believed to add a cozy ambiance to homes.

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Some fireplace components include a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the atmosphere via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a lower heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also enhanced 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 can also be made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex concept though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider only the effect of heating of the atmosphere. An open fireplace is not, and never was, designed to warm the air. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so as the 15th century. The ideal method to estimate the output signal of a fireplace is in case you notice you're turning the thermostat up or down.

Most older fireplaces have a comparatively low efficiency score. Standard, contemporary, weatherproof masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum requirement for example in Salzburg/Austria). To boost efficiency, fireplaces may also be modified by inserting special heavy fireboxes designed to burn cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80% in heating the air. These modified fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating system in two phases. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass window while the fire is burning. In this time the structure, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the heat. This warmth is then equally radiated for several hours during the second stage. Masonry fireplaces with no glass fire window only provide heat radiated from the surface. Depending on outside temperatures 1 to two daily firings are sufficient to ensure a constant room temperature.fireplace doors