While summer is great for enjoying outdoor rooms, there’s an additional charm that comes with extending that enjoyment year-round. With patio heaters, you can still enjoy your outdoor areas without having to suffer through the nighttime chill.
Types of Patio Heaters
Patio heaters come in many different forms, including freestanding patio heaters, mounted table top heaters, commercial patio heaters, propane patio heaters, electric patio heaters, and finally natural gas patio heaters. While many homeowners traditionally choose table top patio heaters, there is also the option of free standing heaters which are normally used by restaurants.
Free-standing heaters are larger (about 95 inches tall) and more powerful than table-top heaters. Table-top heaters, though, because they are lighter and smaller, are also much easier to carry around, wherever you want to go.To help you decide on the best patio heater for your needs, consider the following options.
Patio Heater Fuel
Patio heaters are constructed to function using one of three different fuel types: propane, natural gas, or electricity. Natural gas is used for permanent, stationary heaters. Propane, conveniently available in tanks, allows a heater to be moved about. Infrared heaters are often powered by electricity, though some are run by natural gas. Stationary heaters are advantageous because they hook up to your natural gas lines, and so do not have tanks that need to be replaced or refilled. If you plan on moving the heater to different locations, though, you will need a portable propane model. Portable patio heaters can be either free-standing or table-top models.
Patio Heater Options
Roger Cook from TV’s This Old House joined hosts Tom & Leslie to offer his tips on the best options for patio heaters.
Read Transcript
TOM: Well, if you’d like to keep dining entertaining in your beautiful outdoor spaces well into autumn, it can be done. All you need is a patio heater. Here to tell us about the different types of heaters available is This Old House landscaping contractor Roger Cook.
Hey, Roger.
ROGER: Hey. How are you doing?
TOM: We’re doing well. So, how does a homeowner go about choosing the patio heater that’s right for their setup? There’s an awful lot out there to look out.
ROGER: Well, there’s basically three different types – three different fuel types – which signifies which type you may like to use. The first one is natural gas and that’s a hard-plumb thing, meaning it goes in one spot and it stays there. It’s not movable.
TOM: Right. OK.
ROGER: But the great part is you don’t run out of fuel.
LESLIE: Right.
TOM: Yeah, right. There’s no propane to refill and I guess that’s the next type.
ROGER: Right. The propane ones are great because they allow you to move them around and go to different spots if you’re using different areas in the yard.
LESLIE: Yeah. And they are also in a couple of different sizes. You could even get a tabletop propane one I’ve seen.
TOM: Yeah.
ROGER: Yeah. And you see a lot of the umbrella ones – the big, tall ones that radiate down – at a lot of restaurants outside, too.
TOM: Right.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
ROGER: Yeah.
TOM: Yeah. Now, what about the infrared heaters? Now, these are fairly new in terms of the patio-heater market but they’re run by electricity.
ROGER: Right. And again, it’s a product of choice of what you want to use. If you want to use electricity, these are pretty good heaters for a smaller area.
TOM: And sometimes, we’ve seen infrareds that are run by natural gas and those are really big, industrial. I’ve seen those in big, open-air restaurants, right?
ROGER: Right. Well, even guys try to heat places in the wintertime to keep working and they’ll use those big infrared heaters.
TOM: Right. Like in garages and that kind of stuff.
LESLIE: Oh, yeah.
TOM: So I guess the next choice is portable versus stationary and that comes down to, I guess, how much space you want to heat?
ROGER: Exactly. You know, well, you can move some of them around; some you can’t. So we have to look at that, to begin with. The natural-gas ones are stuck in place.
LESLIE: Now, are you stuck with – when you’re using an outdoor heater, are you stuck with sort of a – sort of low/medium/high setting or can you call up a specific temperature? How do these really work for you?
ROGER: Some of them have thermostats on them so you can really control what you want. The other thing is to figure out the BTUs you need. You need something that’s 45,000 BTUs …
LESLIE: How would you even know that?
ROGER: Probably from the – what the manual says.
LESLIE: So it’ll say a 45,000-BTU unit might do a 20-foot diameter or something.
ROGER: Exactly.
LESLIE: OK.
ROGER: So it’s a matter of pricing something in your zone. You don’t want to pay for too little or too much, so read the manual and see which fits you the best.
TOM: Now, you also have open versus enclosed types of heaters. There are a lot of places where you can use a patio heater either, I guess, where – a fully open area or something maybe on a roof?
ROGER: Well, just remember that any time you have combustion, you have carbon monoxide. You want to get fresh air in so that you don’t have a buildup of carbon monoxide. So never, ever bring one of these combustible heaters into a closed space.
TOM: So that would include maybe some place that was roofed over where that gas could kind of build up.
ROGER: Exactly.
TOM: Even though it’s outside, you could be still subjecting yourself to the off-gassing.
ROGER: Right. You want to make sure you have good air movement to carry the carbon monoxide away.
LESLIE: Are there any safety features sort of built into these, like maybe an on/off switch? Because I’ve got kids and a pet, so I feel like I want to make sure things are really safe for us.
ROGER: Yeah. Most of the high-end ones have an on/off switch but they also have a tip-over switch so that if something happens that it fell down, it just shuts itself off automatically.
TOM: Now, that’s really, really important. And I guess, as always, maintenance is key. Just because it worked one season doesn’t mean it’s going to be working safely the next.
ROGER: No. And you want to take and store these properly in the winter so you have them again next year.
TOM: Good advice. Roger Cook from TV’s This Old House, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
Temperature of Patio Heaters
Patio heaters usually have several different settings. The heating power of a patio heater is rated in BTUs. As an example, a 45,000 BTU heater will produce a 20 foot heat diameter. Free-standing heaters are often more powerful than table-top heaters, and so can be used for larger groups. Some units even have a thermometer that you can also use to set the temperature that you would like your space to be and then be able to easily regulate it from there on out. Most of these, when they reach the set temperature, will shut themselves off.
Patio Heater Safety
Many of the portable patio heaters come with automatic shut offs that will switch off either after a set amount of time, or if the portable patio heater is tipped over or blocked by something. A portable patio heater that has these functions is going to eliminate or lower your risk of fire being caused by the heater. This safety feature is particularly attractive if you have pets or children.
Where can patio heaters be used?
There are many places where you can use a patio heater. For outdoor use, a free standing gas heater can deliver a tremendous amount of heat to the surrounding areas. For enclosed areas, like patio spaces under roofs, electric portable patios heaters are your best choice.
Whichever type of patio heater you choose, be sure to read the manufacturer’s operational instructions and follow all safety precautions they advise. Do that and you’ll have plenty of warmth to enjoy your outdoor space all year long.
Thank you for this informative article on the best patio heaters. It is a great resource for anyone who is looking to extend their outdoor enjoyment season. The article provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of patio heaters available, as well as their pros and cons.
I thought that living in Southern California negated the need for patio heaters but boy was I wrong. I recently got one and it’s lovely. I feel like my patio is a classy restaurant (that serves chicken nuggets).
I love patio heaters, they give out a cafe ambiance that reminds me of my days backpacking in Europe.