Trying to find out what you exactly need is the key to any successful purchase. You may decide to buy a new home for yourself, but before you start looking for it, you ought to decide what kind of a house you want, how big it should be, where it should be located, how much you would like to spend on it etc. etc. Likewise, before you go shopping for a patio heater, you ought to decide in certain facts first.

What are these facts? Remember, patio heaters are almost one time buy. You may need to replace them some time in the future, but you do not buy one every other day. That is why it is important to choose the right model, but to do that, you need to be aware of all the available models. Surfing the net is one way of being acquainted with them. However, listening from the horse’s mouth is a much better method. Talk to your friends and relatives who may have a patio heater. They will be able to give you a first hand idea about their own model at least.

Therefore, before you buy a patio heater:

Search the internet for all the available model and talk to your friends and relatives as well.

Decide if you want a freestanding and portable patio heater or one that is fixed. The later variety may be mounted in walls and ceilings as well as on the floor.

Generally, patio heaters use electricity, natural gas and propane gas for fuel. Each has its own advantage. Try to find more about each.

Patio heaters also run on wood, but such heaters are called chimenea.

In case you decide to install the patio heater permanently in one position, it is important to choose the position carefully.

Read the installation manual carefully. Wrong installation is as much dangerous as mishandling of the heater.

As I said, the first point to decide is if you want a portable patio heater or one that is fixed at one point. Each has its own advantage. A heater mounted on the wall or ceiling does not take up any space and it generally remains out of reach of the children. They are therefore safer. On the other hand, if you choose a portable one, you can take it to wherever the heat is need most. These heaters after all have limited capacity and can heat up a limited area.

Next, let us talk about another aspect of the patio heaters. Based on the fuel used you can have an electric patio heater, natural gas patio heater and propane patio heater. An electric patio heater cannot be very much portable because you need an electrical outlet to run it and that you cannot have everywhere. Indeed, most of the electric patio heaters are mounted on the wall or ceilings. Very few freestanding models are available in such a category.

Many people prefer electric patio heater because it is safe and hassle free. It only needs to be properly installed and properly earthed. As I said, wrong installation is as much dangerous as mishandling of the heaters. As there is no live flame, it poses no fire hazard either. Moreover, it just needs to be switched on and off. Lighting them poses no other hassle.

However, there is only one snag, if you can call it so. To run, an electric patio heater uses grid electricity, which in turn is produced by burning fossil fuel. This makes it very much carbon intensive. Environmentalists are now against such a heater. Then again, if we go by that line we will have to throw many of our gadgets as well as creature comfort out of the window. When that is not possible, how much more harm can an electric patio heater do?

However, if you indeed want to buy an electric patio heater, make sure that it produces radiant heat rather than normal. The radiant heat works in the same way as the sun does. It does not heat the air in-between, but only the solid object in its part. That way it makes sure that energy so produced is not wasted. To be frank, no other heater is as economical and as hassle free as an electric patio heater, that produces radiant heat.

Author Bio: Article by Kenny Leichester of PatioShoppers.com, a website with the best aluminum tilt umbrella and wood outdoor furniture information on the web.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: patio heaters, electric patio heater