Benefits of Outdoor Patio Heaters

Why Buy a Patio Heater?

Quick Answer: Patio Heaters add year-round usability to your outdoor space.

We love patio heaters, because patio heaters love outdoor events — and they want you to stay outside as long as you want, whenever you want. They take a long look at your outdoor entertaining space and think, “You know what? My owner invested hard-earned cash into this place. Why shouldn’t they enjoy it when it gets cold out?” When it comes to making the most of your outdoor space during an unwelcome temperature dip, nothing else compares.

They can even improve profitability in commercial environments, where the fickle mercy of the jet stream wields an iron fist over balconies, patios, and similar areas of outdoor relaxation. Many patio heater brands even offer commercial warranties on their heaters. Investment can reap huge benefits, no matter your climate — frigid cold fronts can rustle up anywhere even during a boiling summer, and they’re somehow always furious about being left off your invite list.

Patio Heaters Boost Your Ability to Entertain

Keep the Party Going

Frigid night? Frosty winter? Patio heaters laugh at such obstacles. These party batteries believe a brisk chill should never prematurely wind down any festivities.
Extend Your Space

Cold snaps are a criminal menace to any restaurant or bar patio. Luckily, patio heaters are your comfort police — here to lay down the law.
Low Maintenance

Guess how much upkeep you’d need to funnel into a patio heater. And… time’s up! Did you guess “barely any?” Because the answer’s “barely any.”
Instant Warmth

Infrared patio heaters create inviting warmth with no waiting around for elements to heat up or for heat to permeate a space – just instant toastiness!

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Modern Patio Heater Innovations

History lesson time! Did you know that the earliest available outdoor heaters — we’re talking “late 1800s” here — were basically massive Bunsen burners that projected heat by scorching an element? Warming up to them took a while. Standing on the shoulders of gas-powered and combustion-based giants, today’s patio heaters have certainly come a long way. The latest and greatest models (Hey, we sell those!) are built on countless advancements from just the past few decades alone!

Quartz Infrared Heating

Here’s a pretty common one for modern luxury patio heaters. Radiant heating — which is what this is — uses infrared waves to directly heat surfaces without touching the air between. This is the foundation of technology for infrared patio heaters (also, the sun). Where quartz enters the picture is the central quartz element: that’s fancy shorthand for a heating element, usually tungsten, bottled in a quartz tube. Heat generation happens at the appropriate wavelength and is directed forwards by reflective mirrors; coincidentally, this means a faster heat response. Since we’re cooking with infrared here, the directional heat happens to be naturally wind-resistant!
Low Visibility Patio Heaters

Felt but not seen! That was a driving force in pioneering medium-wave infrared and glare reduction technology. After all, the first infrared patio heaters widely available used short-wave lighting. Let’s illuminate those downsides: bright light, disrupting glare, and less attention spent admiring the space. Most owners didn’t purchase their patio heaters to hog the spotlight by, well, being a spotlight — they wanted their comfort machines to do their jobs from a place of general anonymity. Modern brands like Bromic and Infratech learned their lesson: with no shortcuts in warmth, they blend seamlessly against the background remarkably well! Maybe they saw the light.
Multi-Heater Zone Control

Need to heat one expansive area or several separate spaces? Sure, you could purchase a dozen large freestanding patio heaters that would need to be lit separately (if so, our fantastic sales and support team would love to hear from you at 1-877-743-2269). Another option: hardwire several wall or ceiling mounted heaters into enclosed circuits. Solaira and Infratech offer circuit panels that group heater controls to a single channel, while Bromic heaters can be linked to a receiver box and managed by remote! Toggling heat everywhere at once is definitely a boon for commercial application, such as bars and restaurants.

Top Patio Heater Brands

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Trendy Ways to Incorporate a Patio Heater into Your Outdoor Space

If you’re sold on the pitch here — “Don’t let Nature tell you how to live your life” — you might be asking yourself how best to incorporate patio heaters into your hosting space. We’ve designed and built amazing outdoor living spaces for over 2 decades! Our free outdoor design team experts have seen it all and know what works. That’s why we asked them for their favorite methods of making outdoor spaces awesome with patio heaters.

Flush Mounted Patio Heaters

Some brands build heaters friendly to flush mounting or that can be recessed into walls or ceilings. You worked hard on that décor, after all — why distract from it? Something to bear in mind here: physics has it out for gas-powered patio heaters, making them pretty picky about their personal space (guaranteeing ample airflow keeps down on any combustion concerns). For that reason, you can only flush mount electric patio heaters. Speaking of, electric patio heaters featuring low visibility wavelength are the discerning choice here, as they virtually vanish into the background. “Felt but not seen,” remember?
3 Season Outdoor Rooms

Most northern folks know all about 3 and 4 season rooms (Not us! We’ve only heard tales of these alleged “seasons”). Call them sunrooms, conservatories, or whatever you’d like; these home extensions offer comfortable enclosed areas for the snow-unfriendly seasons, unless you build a 4 season room (enabling you, too, to taunt winter from relative comfort). Electric patio heaters, it turns out, quite inexpensively convert 3 season rooms and screened-in porches into all-season spaces. We’re being specific, because electric patio heaters don’t produce gas — which burns — or harmful combustion by-products. Check that manual before using your patio heater in any enclosure!
Heated Outdoor Fire Pits

Time to talk about one of our favorite ways to incorporate patio heating into any space! Roasting marshmallows, telling stories, snuggling up together… is there any better way to spend a cold night with loved ones? No. Well, maybe. Small problem here: while you’re toasting those toes to the outdoor fireplace or fire pit, the rest of you stays chilly! That is, unless you install a patio heater behind your seating area. Blanket yourself in comfort under that cold moon! Pairing the warmth of an infrared heater with an ambient fire feature is a key recipe for countless fuzzy memories.