Beautiful Make Your Patio Look Good And Feel Warm With The Right Patio Heater

A patio heater is not only a good way to heat your patio; it is also a good lighting solution. Since the source of heat is incandescent, there is bound to be some light and patio heaters emit a dim light which does a really good job of lighting up the place in a subtle understated way. It looks especially good in a bistro or cafe, with added candlelight to augment the effect. It can open up the patio for you during winter time by making the patio warm enough to sit comfortably outside in cold weather. The umbrella like structures are heat sinks that trap the heat and spread it out sideways instead of letting it escape up, thus keeping the immediate surroundings warm.

But be careful because it's at the expenditure of gas. You have to think about global warming, your patio isn't the only place getting warm! You can get a patio heater in different capacities and configurations. There are floor-mounted mini lamp-post like, table-top and wall-mounted. The best way to achieve heating uniformly throughout is to place a large number of low capacity heaters throughout the area. Open air restaurants and cafes usually employ this technique to achieve overall heating with minimum expenditure of gas.

An electric one is also available. The makers claim they are environmentally friendly, but I say they are in fact more energy-consuming than gas-operated heaters because electric units draw grid energy and grid energy for heating applications is very inefficient and energy-consuming, be it patio heaters or resistance heaters like in electric stoves. Better to stick to gas heaters. They have the minor drawback of having to refill the gas from time to time, but they are worth it in the long run.

Now, is it a good buy? Well, I would say they would be bit of an unnecessary expense for home use. Because they are mostly used by commercial establishments like bars and restaurants. In this scenario, it can heat the patio, hence making it comfortable for patrons to sit outside, which would otherwise be too cold to sit and hence the establishment would lose patrons. By getting more people into the establishment, a patio heater effectively pays for itself and the cost of gas burnt is thus justified. At home, it is always easy to just stay in. But if you like sitting out in the patio and you feel the investment is really worth it, then, go ahead.