AMBIANCE OF WOOD BURNING FIREPLACES

Fireplaces evoke nostalgic and sentimental memories of times when whole families would gather in the family room and listen to a show on the radio or read books together in quiet company.  When the weather turned cold and the outdoor adventures had to wait for Spring, the fireplace was the gathering place of many families.

They have always been manufactured to serve several purposes at once:

• Cooking
• Heating
• Aesthetic Design

Initially rooms needed to be heated in order to stay alive in cold winter months, but even as modern heat sources developed, most homes were still built with a functional wood burning fireplace, both as an alternate source of heat, but also as an attractive design feature of the main room.

 CASTING FIREPLACES

Casting techniques as well as new technology have made the modern fireplace very sophisticated.  The inserts available for these modern fireplaces are often decorated cast iron pieces frequently decorated with tiles. The insert is the area where the fire itself will burn.

The Industrial Revolution really paved the way for the ubiquity of fireplaces as iron became plentiful and easy to work with for both utilitarian and decorative purposes. As companies developed the ability to smelt iron more easily fireplaces themselves became more affordable.

The popularity of fireplaces has waned little since Victorian times and newer technology gives one the options of designing with this retro feel in mind or going completely modern with remote controls that control not only the flame by the ventilation and the heat produced.

 STOVE FIREPLACES

One feature from old homes that is making a resurgence in modern design is  the stove fireplace.  These can be situated in any area that could house a traditional fireplace, the only requirement being access to a chimney so that the air can flow through. These can use coal or wood for fuel, though most modern ones use wood.

If one opts against wood burning fireplaces, the other options available include natural gas or coal.  The latter falling largely out of favor in modern times.  Wood will always be the easiest as it takes no extra piping.  Gas is very inexpensive though and there are many environmental groups who lobby against wood fireplaces because of their damage to the environment.

In fact, London lawmakers have urged a ban on wood burning fireplaces because of the high level of pollution.

Today, most of the fireplaces are fueled by natural gas mainly because it does not cause too much pollution as compared to firewood and it is easy to ignite and to control.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Other ways to deter the environmental concerns include cleaner burning wood that is not only better for the ozone layer but also easier to set fire to. Gas fireplace manufactures have made great strides in making their “wood” look more natural to evoke the same ambiance of the wood burning fireplaces and there are ones that accomplish this so well, it is difficult to believe actual wood is not burning.

Fireplaces will always be reminiscent of relaxing and warming up on cold winter nights. They are iconic enough to be symbolized in Christmas cards every winter and many families would not consider Christmas morning begun until the fireplace was lit.