Patio Heating For Your Home

For homeowners, maximizing the potential of your investment often means optimizing your outdoor living spaces, including your patio. During spring and summer, these areas become particularly inviting when the sun shines and the weather is pleasant. Whether you're unwinding, reading a book, sipping coffee, or just soaking in the fresh air, spending time outside is both enjoyable and cost-effective.

However, there are still moments when the temperature might dip, making it less comfortable to fully enjoy your outdoor space. Early mornings and late evenings, for instance, can feel chilly even when the rest of the day is perfect. But this doesn’t mean you have to confine your patio usage to just the middle of the day. With the right outdoor heating solutions, you can continue to enjoy your patio throughout the day and even into the evening. One of the best options is an infrared patio heater.

All You Need to Know About Infrared Heaters

Infrared heaters are user-friendly and highly efficient. Depending on your preference, they can operate on various fuel types, including electricity, natural gas, or liquid propane. All of our infrared heaters produce infrared rays that effectively warm people and objects by heating infrared emitter grids or rods, which then release these rays.

As noted earlier, our infrared heaters run on propane, natural gas, or electricity. These fuel sources are exceptionally clean and cost-effective, especially compared to traditional heaters. Unlike wood-burning stoves, infrared heaters don’t produce smoke, soot, or harmful chemicals. Just think about the mess created by a wood-burning stove—ash and soot everywhere—and how much cleaner and more convenient infrared heaters are.

Since these heaters can run on multiple energy sources, you also have flexibility in how you mount your infrared heater. Patio heaters can be mounted on poles in the ground or suspended from the ceiling. Suspended heaters are popular because they save space and allow for more furniture or foot traffic underneath.

They can be rectangular or box-shaped, or round. Your choice of shape depends on how you want the heat distributed in the space you’ll be heating. If you need focused heat in a specific area, a box-shaped heater might work best. If you prefer evenly distributed heat over a larger area, mushroom-shaped heaters could be a better fit.

Your Heater Fuel Choices

The key difference between heaters lies in whether they use self-contained fuel tanks (electric or propane) or are connected to an external fuel source (natural gas). Heaters with self-contained fuel tanks can be moved around as needed. This is handy if you want to change the location of your heater. You can shift it to heat different areas or sections of the same area. They’re also easier to store when not in use for long periods.

Another advantage of a heater with its own fuel source is easier storage. These heaters typically require less cleaning and maintenance as long as they’re properly stored and protected from the elements.

Electric and natural gas-powered heaters are permanently installed. This limits your ability to move them around. So, they’re ideal for spaces where you’ve already determined the best spot for heating and installed the heater accordingly. If you can install an electric or natural gas heater, you won’t have to worry about replacing fuel tanks. If you opt for a natural gas heater, you’ll need a natural gas line run to your property.

Many areas already have this utility available. If you don’t have a natural gas line to your home, your local natural gas provider can install one for you.

Electric heaters often come with more advanced control systems, allowing for precise control over multiple heaters at once.

Box-Shaped vs. Mushroom Heaters

When purchasing a new infrared heater, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is whether to choose a box-shaped or mushroom-shaped heater. Both options are high-performing, durable, easy to use, and low-maintenance. Below, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each, along with other key considerations.

Common Features

Both box-shaped and mushroom-shaped heaters can run on electricity, propane, or natural gas. Electric and natural gas heaters are the most common types of box heaters, while propane and natural gas are more frequently used for mushroom heaters. Both types can be mounted on a wall, on a pole fixed in the ground or floor, or suspended from a ceiling or beam.

Differences Between the Two

Box-shaped and mushroom-shaped heaters are mostly similar except in how they direct heat. Mushroom heaters distribute infrared heat in a full 360-degree circle around the unit. Box-shaped patio heaters, on the other hand, generate heat in a wide area in the direction the unit is facing.

Naturally, the more focused heat from a box-shaped heater will be more intense in the area it’s aimed at, though the heated area will be smaller. A mushroom-shaped heater spreads heat evenly in all directions, but the intensity at any given point in the 360-degree heated area will be lower than what you’d experience in the path of a box-shaped heater. Before purchasing either type, consider the space you plan to use it in and decide which heat distribution pattern best suits your needs.

Generally, mushroom-shaped heaters are used in communal areas where medium to large groups of people gather, like coffee shop patios or large decks. If you plan to entertain small groups or simply want to move freely around your patio with consistent, even heat, a mushroom heater might be ideal.

Another factor to consider is how enclosed your heated space is. If it’s well enclosed, the heat from a box-shaped heater might eventually fill the entire space. For open areas, you might want to focus activities within the cone of heat generated by a box-shaped heater or consider installing a mushroom-shaped unit.

Finally, if you desire the 360-degree coverage of a mushroom heater but also need portability, look into propane patio heaters with mushroom-shaped heads. These units often come with or can be fitted with a wheel kit, making it easy to reposition and adding significant flexibility to the heater.