Main types of fireplaces: characteristics and features

Today we are going to talk to you about the main types of fireplaces (main types of antique and modern fireplaces), giving you some important advice that will help you choose the most suitable fireplace for your needs.

The fireplace is a truly unique piece of furniture, capable of giving a great sense of warmth (not only physical but also emotional) and comfort inside a home. For this reason, many people dream of having a fireplace in their living room.

All people who are preparing to turn their dream into reality and purchase a fireplace must pay the utmost attention to a number of extremely important technical aspects. In this regard, when buying a fireplace, it is important to carefully consider the size of the furniture and the type of power supply.

A fireplace is a very special piece of furniture that must be chosen according to the style and design of the home. It will also be very important to select and choose with the utmost care the place where the fireplace is to be positioned and installed.

Choosing the most suitable fireplace model for your needs is not an easy task: this is also due to the fact that the widest range of solutions are available on the market today. Here is everything you need to know about the features and characteristics of a fireplace.

Where to position and install the fireplace

Before choosing which model of fireplace to purchase, it will be necessary to identify the location where the furniture is to be installed. It should be pointed out that a fireplace can be installed in practically any room. However, an important element must be present for the system to function correctly: we are obviously talking about the hood. The absence of this element (or the malfunctioning of the hood) does not guarantee a good draught. The presence of the latter is very important in order to properly exit the fumes produced by the chimney, which are created during the combustion process.

For those who are preparing to purchase a chimney during the design phase of the house, it is possible to foresee the insertion of the hood inside a wall. In this way the hood will be well hidden and not visible.

If, on the other hand, you are about to insert your fireplace in a house that has already been renovated and finished, in this case you can decide to install a wall flue. In these circumstances you can also decide to cover the flue with plasterboard (painted or decorated according to your aesthetic tastes).

Returning to the installation of the fireplace, we can say that in general this furniture tends to be installed in the living area: this is for aesthetic and obviously functional reasons. If, on the other hand, you want to install the fireplace in the kitchen, in this case the choice must be well thought out. The kitchen is in fact a room in which heating elements are usually already present (as well as appliances for cooking and preparing food and dishes, of course).

Regardless of where you decide to install your fireplace, you must consider that the chosen space must necessarily be characterised by good ventilation. This will facilitate the exchange of air. Therefore, it is better to choose an area close to a window or to an air inlet specially made for air exchange.

The dimensions of a fireplace

Let us now turn to the dimensions that can characterise the various fireplaces available on the market today. Today it is possible to purchase fireplaces of various sizes on the market that can be adapted to any room. In addition to the dimensions of the external structure of the furniture, the dimensions of the other structural elements of the furniture (in particular the chimney hood and flue) should be considered.

It is also important to point out that if the purpose of installing a fireplace is not only aesthetic but functional, the dimensions of the fireplace must be carefully calculated according to the size of the room in which the furniture will be installed. If the room is no larger than 20 square metres, in this case the fireplace hearth should have the following dimensions

• 50 centimetres wide
• 60 centimetres in height
• 35 centimetres deep

If the room is larger than 20 square metres and can reach a maximum size of 30 square metres, it must instead contain a fireplace with a hearth with the following dimensions

• 75 centimetres wide
• 60 centimetres in height
• 37 centimetres deep
• Flue pipe 20 X 20 centimetres

Lastly, the mouth of a fireplace to be installed in a room measuring 40 square metres must be

• 95 centimetres wide
• 70 centimetres in height
• 40 centimetres deep
• Flue 25 X 25 centimetres

Large rooms (up to 70 square metres in size) must have a chimney that is 1.5 metres wide, 80 centimetres high and 45 centimetres deep. The chimney must be at least 35 centimetres wide and 25 centimetres deep.

Different types of fireplaces

When you have understood and decided where to place the fireplace you are going to buy, the time has finally come to choose the model that best suits your needs.

The different types of fireplaces are specially designed and conceived to be able to perform a variety of functions, and in particular:

• Aesthetic, visual and stylistic function
• Heating
• Cooking food

With reference to the different types of fireplaces available on the market, it should be pointed out that an open fireplace gives rise to a prominent aesthetic impact, giving a great sense of warmth and cosiness. However, the open fireplace has some limitations: this type of furniture can only be fuelled by wood (typical wood-burning fireplaces). An open fireplace also does not allow you to benefit from even heating, as the heat will tend to disperse into the room.

If your main objective is not aesthetic and stylistic, but instead you want to obtain a good source of heat, it is better in that case to opt for the purchase and installation of a modern ventilated open fireplace. These systems are equipped with special ventilation ducts that allow the heat to spread evenly throughout the room. This is why the open fireplace is a particularly functional choice.

For even better heat propagation and distribution, you can opt for the purchase and installation of a closed fireplace. A number of ventilated closed fireplaces are also available on the market today. For the construction of this type of fireplace, materials such as cast iron, steel and glass are usually used, the latter for the construction of the roof (tempered material capable of withstanding high temperatures). The closed ventilated fireplace is the perfect system for making the most of combustion. Thanks to the closed structure, this piece of furniture can boast the highest safety standards, since the combustion material cannot in any way reach the outside space. There are many models of closed ventilated fireplaces available on the market today that are extremely modern and reliable in terms of performance. There are monobloc structures made up of a single prefabricated block, fuelled by wood or gas.

If your main requirement is the even distribution of heat in one or more rooms, it is always better to opt for a ventilated structure. This will allow you to channel the air and propagate the heat, even in rooms where the fireplace is not positioned.

An alternative is also represented by heating fireplaces. These systems are structures that we could define as particularly convenient, since they allow you to obtain heat and in addition hot water. The heat will in fact affect the water circulating in the radiators.

The bioethanol fireplace, on the other hand, is an inexpensive furnishing solution. However, this type of fireplace will not generate enough heat to heat your home. Bioethanol fireplaces are more of an aesthetic choice than a particularly functional one.

Main power supplies of a fireplace

As you can easily guess, it is now possible to buy fireplaces that are powered by various energy sources. Each fireplace will always need a combustion material for its operation. The wood-burning fireplace is the most classic and traditional solution in this regard. This type of solution is usually preferred for open fireplace models.

The wood fireplace is an element capable of creating a truly unique and inimitable atmosphere of comfort and warmth, which is difficult to recreate by other fireplace models. Obviously, you will have to consider the typical olfactory sensation of wood combustion: for some it is particularly pleasant and appreciable, for others less so.

Wood is also a material that, unlike other materials, is much cheaper and easier to find and buy. Obviously it is always important to have completely dry wood. Damp wood is difficult to light and burn and causes a great deal of creation and dispersion of fumes, which would be very annoying inside the room.

Alternatively, you can opt for the purchase of a pellet-fuelled fireplace. This system guarantees a reduced environmental impact, as well as a much better technical performance compared to the classic wood-fuelled system. The only disadvantage of pellets is that they burn much faster than wood. For this reason it must be added to the chimney more frequently.

Another system that you can decide to install in your space is the electric fireplace: this model uses electricity to operate, with the aid of a special device. Electric fireplaces are not a particularly suitable solution for large rooms, since in these circumstances the heating would be minimal. An electric chimney saves combustible material but is rather expensive in terms of energy costs.

Types of flueless chimneys

Flueless chimneys are systems that do not require a chimney for their installation. These devices must generate heat by means of clean combustion:

• Combustion that does not produce by-products that are harmful to people's health and can therefore be released into the environment without any problems.
• Operation that makes use of the transformation of a different form of energy (e.g. by exploiting the Joule effect, with the transformation of electrical energy, taken from a socket, into heat.

Fireplaces without a chimney are bioethanol or bio-fireplaces, gas fireplaces (methanol or LPG) or electric fireplaces.