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We all love fireplaces
by Paul Bramber
http://www.fireplaceez.com
A space built into many homes designed to contain a fire,
fireplaces are generally used for heating. A chimney or
other vent enables gas and particulate exhaust to escape
the building. Fireplaces have become embedded in our
culture with stories such as Santa Claus coming down the
chimney to get in houses and in fairytales such as The
Three Little Pigs, in which the wolf enters the third
little pig's house, which is made of brick, through the
chimney
In colder climates throughout the world, the fireplace or
hearth has traditionally been the central feature and
gathering place of a household since it emits warmth. The
sensation of direct heat and the entrancing flickers and
leaps of the burning wood make its use and enduring part of
life even today.
In many locales, wood, coal and peat burning fireplaces are
being replaced by cleaner, safer and often cheaper eletric
and gas fireplaces. Gas fireplaces are often designed to
replicate wood-burning fires and provide the same ambience.
Some eletric fireplaces include flame-shaped paper
streamers that wave vertically, held up by the updraft
produced by the heating element.
If you live in a home that does not already have a
fireplace in it then you can have one already made and then
re-assembled in your home. Chimneys are no longer needed
either to have a fireplace, and many people who do have
homes with built in fireplaces have them covered because it
wastes energy by allowing heat to escape up through the
chimney. Pre-fabricated fireplaces are very popular today
and they come in all shapes and sizes.
Today, there are generally four types of fireplaces: wood
burning, direct vent gas, vented gas, and vent-free gas.
Wood burning fireplaces are fueled either by manufactured
products, including pellets or petroleum based artificial
logs, or wood. They are inefficient and produce many
biproducts, two reasons the market for them is shrinking
rapidly. Direct Vent fireplaces' coaxial vent system of
pipe inside pipe allows for a completely sealed system that
does not compromise the inside air quality of the home.
Vented gas fireplaces use an air-cooled pipe or gas flex
liners to vent appliances. Vent free gas fireplaces do not
require a chimney system, are extremely efficient and will
shut off if oxygen in the room falls below acceptable
levels.
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