Gas Patio Heaters
If you don’t want the weather to get in the way of enjoying your outdoor patio then gas patio heaters are something very much worth considering. Whether you are living on a Northern climate or want to spend some more time outside on a chilly night or morning, these units will greatly enhance your comfort.
Umbrella style patio gas heaters have a burner mounted on top of the unit fueled by natural gas or LPG. LPG here stands for propane or butane and you should take care to never connect a gas patio heater designed to run on LPG to a natural gas outlet.
The generated heat is radiated downwards rather than just warming up the air like traditional forced air heating systems. The added benefit of course is that infrared gas patio heaters are a lot more economical because of the energy cost savings.
Infrared outdoor gas patio heaters create a warm and comfortable atmosphere and have been used in restaurants for quite some time to increase seating capacity on the outdoor patio.
Combustion heaters on the other hand tend to be easily affected by outdoor weather conditions like strong gusts of wind. Patio gas heaters are very easy to install and most of the LPG varieties are portable unless of course you are opting for a model to be wall-mounted. Depending on the size of your patio you might have to install multiple heaters to create a completely comfortable and warm atmosphere.
Natural Gas Patio Heaters
Natural gas patio heaters provide a higher output and are also less expensive than their propane or butane counterparts. The only drawback might be that they are less portable as you have to place them in the vicinity of a gas outlet unless of course you are prepared to install additional outlets.
The reason propane or LPG heaters might be more popular than natural gas heaters is that they don’t need a fixed gas outlet unlike natural gas patio heaters.
Remember that a stainless steel patio heater might cost a little extra but they are well worth their price if you care about durability. Also bear in mind that industrial patio heaters, like used in many restaurants, are generally a lot more efficient than the domestic type variety.
Once again, gas patio heaters can radiate heat in a radius of up to 5 meters or 15’ unlike traditional heaters that just warm up the surrounding air. Although they are safe and stable, windy conditions might affect their performance and most have a built-in safety mechanism to switch off in the case of strong wind.
Just remember that the most energy efficient gas patio heaters are without a doubt the ones that run on natural gas. So consider your options and needs before purchasing a patio heater.
