Fireplace

Fireplaces represent a technology for heating buildings that has largely been deprecated. Traditional fireplaces were stone or brick bays, built into the walls of rooms within buildings, where it was safe to burn fuel, like wood, peat or coal. Stone or brick were used for the fireplaces' walls, and floor, or hearth. The top of the fireplace would open into a chimney - a vertical tube or passage to convey the smoke from the fire to be safely evacuated.

In recent centuries superior means of heating than the traditional fireplace have largely relegated the traditional fireplace to symbolic or decorative use.

Wood stoves proved superior to the traditional fireplace because they gave greater control over how much air was supplied to the fuel. Much of the heat from a traditional fireplace was wasted, as it was carried up the chimney.

Modern fireplaces can be purchased that seal the flames behind glass doors, so the entertaining flame can be watched, with less heat being wasted up the chimney. Modern fireplaces can be purchased that use natural gas, to free users from the mess and inconvenience of manually charging the fireplace with wood or other fuel.