Fireplace

A fireplace ( from the Latin caminus " oven", called in Switzerland and French-speaking countries fireplace ) is an in-house technical means for incinerating solid fuels - mostly lumpy firewood, peat - in which the combustion occurs at low speed. The aim is primarily the heating of the installation. With the proliferation of other ways of heating the comfort aspect of the dancing flames moved into the foreground.

A fireplace is usually from a combustion chamber, a flue collector ( also called Esse ) and a connecting line to a chimney. Additional components may be: a grate, a thermal insulation to protect neighboring buildings, a smoke damper and doors to seal the firebox.

The firebox is made ​​of a noncombustible material, preferably, it is lined with refractory bricks. Alternatively, the combustion chamber can be made ​​of cast iron plates. Industrially manufactured from sheet steel fireboxes require additional lining (such as fireclay, vermiculite, calcium silicate ) to protect the steel from direct flame attack. The smoke collector and the connecting line are also made of a non-combustible material, today steel sheet is preferably used.

The technical components of the chimney be lined and walled off to the back room. Often the fireplace in front of a rear house wall is placed and protrudes into the room. Behind, above or beside the fireplace is the chimney to carry away the fumes.

Fireplace

Fireplaces are detectable for about 800 years. Historical predecessor of the fireplace is the solitary to the Early Modern encountered open house hearth, in which the flue gases were open to the kitchen. With the proliferation of multi-storey construction, the open house fireplace proved to be impractical and was initially displaced from the center of the room in or on the exterior walls. The flue gases were performed in a fume collectors located above the fireplace and out through slits in the walls to the outside. Later structures direct the exhaust gases by means of a situated above the fireplace chimney from above roof.

The open fireplaces, first served - with the exception of representative or stately buildings, parts of buildings or premises - not only space heating but also as domestic cooking area. If historic fireplaces were exclusively intended for space heating, can be found in them often elaborate panels, natural stone applications and superior style frame as an expression of sophisticated living.

Be variously distinguished: Lombardy fireplaces with far excellent, pyramidal coat standing on consoles or other juts; French, which are quite outside the wall; German, which project further and have a high mantle, and Dutch, lying entirely in the wall.

Mode of action and fire protection

The heating effect of the open fire is due in part to the directly emitted by the flame thermal radiation. On the other hand, the combustion chamber massively produced in the rule is heated during the burnup with and thus provides additional radiant heat.

Special constructions conduct additional air behind the combustion chamber or the flue collector and so also allow heat dissipation by convection.

For historical constructions, the combustion chamber back sometimes bordering on neighboring premises, so that there can be a heat transfer by radiation and convection.

The efficiency of open fires is low. The reason for this is that with correct system design (according to sparse inner dimension and height of the chimney as well as the opening of the chimney ), the opening of the chimney must be subjected to a substantial side airflow. This will on the one hand prevents flue gases from the open combustion chamber on the boiler room out. On the other hand, thereby possibly heated room air through the chimney from the room out.

Functional requirement for open fireplaces is that sufficient combustion air and secondary air can flow into the installation. Roughly, an air requirement of 360 m³ / h per m² firebox opening are recognized.

Fire protection needs in the construction of fireplaces adequate and non-combustible insulation, the use of appropriate materials, the inventory shall be paid to non-flammable and stable ground and on a non-combustible floor in front of the firebox opening. The floor covering is to protect against pop-out sparks.

Closed fireplace

In order to improve the efficiency of a Kaminfeuerung, doors are used, with which the firebox can be closed out on the boiler room. This eliminates the required in open fireplaces secondary air flow, heating of the room air is thus more feasible. Material side doors made ​​of cast iron are used or - to pursue the flames can - Door constructions heat-resistant ceramic glass.

Fireplace as boiler

When used for central heating enclosed fireplace, the air ducting of fresh air and flue gas are optimized. The double-walled side walls, the fire grate and flue gas pockets in the combustion chamber are water cooled, the water acts as an energy carrier. The heated water is passed through the heating network into homes and used for hot water supply. The water-bearing chimney can be used as an independent heating system or for the relief of other heating systems as a second heating. As a technical description of the water-bearing fireplaces fireplace with back boiler, the term is used in the literature. The water-bearing chimney is on the technical classification of a solid fuel boiler, but with the design of a traditional fireplace.

The boundary with the stove is fluent and arises only out of the lineup: While the normal fireplace set into a wall, a stove is rather detached. Stoves with a glass door, which are often also connected to a wall, represent a limiting case

Emergency chimney

An emergency chimney (also additional fireplace, fireplace or precautionary safety fireplace called ) is primarily used to supply security in any power outages and supply shortages of energy suppliers. Other reasons for use are "independence" and " individuality " in the selection of energy and heat supply.