How do you choose a patio heater?
In short
Before you buy a patio heater, carefully check the size of the surface you want to heat. In addition, take into account the fact that the wind has a strong influence on the heat intensity of a patio heater. You can also choose either a gas or electric heater, and whether you want a standing or mounted patio heater.
What's the size of your patio?
A mistake that many people make is that they look for a patio heater that can heat their entire garden. But in general, it doesn't happen often that someone wants to heat their entire garden. Do you have a permanent sitting area in your garden? You probably want to heat your sitting area. This reduces the heat range you need, which saves both power and costs.
Do you have to take the wind into account?
Yes, wind often influences the heat intensity of a patio heater. For example, some patio heaters have a high wind sensitivity. With these heaters, the heat blows away faster due to the influence of the wind than with patio heaters with low wind sensitivity. With heaters with a low wind sensitivity, the wind has little influence on the heat. We've listed the types of patio heaters and how sensitive they are to wind.
Wind sensitivity per heating element
| Types of electric heaters | Types of gas heaters | |
|---|---|---|
| High wind sensitivity | Heat panel and Quartz | Flame heater |
| Low wind sensitivity | Lowglare, Carbon, Halogen, Golden Tube, Golden Shadow, Rose Gold, and Heatstrip | Patio heater and table heater |
Gas or electric?
Electric patio heaters
- Electric patio heaters are more affordable to use.
- Electric patio heaters heat the desired spot more accurately.
- An electric patio heater doesn't offer cordless freedom.
Gas patio heaters
- Gas patio heaters are mobile, so you don't have to hassle with cords.
- With gas patio heaters, you can heat surfaces in multiple directions.
- It's more expensive to use gas than it is to use electricity.
Standing or mounted?
Standing patio heaters
The big advantage of a standing patio heater is that you can move it and that it provides heat all around. The standing patio heaters include the well-known mushroom models, but also flame heaters and patio heaters. Flame heaters have a visible flame and also provide a nice atmosphere in addition to heat. Patio heaters are specially designed for a lounge set. They emit heat at a sitting level. A disadvantage of standing patio heaters is that they're almost always in plain sight.
Hanging patio heaters
A mounted patio heater is easy to mount on the wall or ceiling. This means that it doesn't take up any extra space and you always have it ready. The mounted patio heaters include the round 'party tent heaters' that you can mount via a cord that radiate heat straight down. They also include the well-known elongated models that can usually be attached to the wall, but possibly to the ceiling as well. Ceiling heaters only radiate heat downwards.
