Saturday 21 May 2011

Patio Heaters And Their Alternatives

These days, most homeowners want to construct a patio in their gardens or yards to enhance the attractiveness and comfort of their homes. During summer days, it is the best place in the home to relax, entertain friends and spend time with your family. If you put a heater in the patio, you can use it in winter times also. There are different types of outdoor patio heaters that come in various sizes, shapes, and varieties and are fueled by a variety of sources, including propane, natural gas, wood, and electricity.

These heaters are highly beneficial to provide comfortable warmth during the chilly days and nights of winter season. One of the most popular types of heaters is umbrella patio heater, a beautifully designed unit that is run by propane gas. This type of heating system also requires only a little space as it does have a thin vertical shape. The wood burning heaters are environment friendly and are less expensive than others. Moreover, if you want, you can add a cooking grill to your wood burning heater.

The gas outdoor patio heaters are lightweight and are available in various styles and shapes. These are very easy to install and can be controlled with a remote control. The electric ones are perfect to be used both indoors and outdoors. They are the easiest way to warm a patio. The electric Infrared heaters can heat the patio very quickly and are ideal to use in windy weather.

The major criticism against outdoor patio heaters is that they are hazardous to environment as they emit a substantial amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Hence, it has been strongly recommended to use other methods to heat the patios. Fortunately, there are many alternatives to these. outdoor patio fireplaces are a best option to heat patios. They are made from a number of materials, including stainless steel, cast iron, stone, clay, brick, stucco, copper, and cast aluminum. Both wood-burning outdoor fireplaces and gas-fueled outdoor fireplaces are available in the market. The outdoor fireplaces are in fact more attractive than the patio heaters.

The outdoor patio chimineas are a good alternative to outdoor patio heaters. They also add more natural beauty and elegance to your patio. Woods are generally used as fuel for chimineas. The other fuel sources that can be used in chiminea include charcoal, propane and alcohol gel. Fire pits are another effective way to give warmth to the area. There are a wide variety of patio fire pits available in the market in different shapes and various materials. Usually, fire pits are fueled by gas or wood.