Top 10 Best Outdoor Heaters and What to Look For

Samuel J Tan Garden 1

An outdoor heater is a must have item for all those people who want to make their evenings comfortable in an open-air setting. Extremely lightweight, outdoor heaters make sure that you, along with your guests, don’t have to suffer in the cold when outdoor especially leading to autumn and winter months.

Compared to the traditional heaters, these gas outdoor heaters do not require you to deal with any kind of smoke. Depending on your personal preference, whether you want to use them on the poolside or if you want to set these units up on your garden patio, these heaters can be installed anywhere without any hindrance.

So if you’re looking to make the most of your home’s outdoor living space, and want to purchase a top-rated outdoor heater for this purpose, you’ve come to the right place. We outline the selection criteria in an easy to understand guide below and pick a comprehensive list of top 10 best outdoor heaters which you can purchase from today’s market.

Also present in this guide are useful tips which will make it easy for you in terms of finding a suitable heater based on your personal preference. Every heater is designed differently to a certain degree, this guide will helps you make a decision when choosing from a wide range and variety of outdoor heaters out there.

What to Look for in an Outdoor Heater

It is imperative to look for a number of different things while choosing an outdoor heater. It includes the type of heater, its design and the budget which can afford to spend on this acquisition.

Types of Outdoor Heaters

There are three types of outdoor heaters which are available in today’s market. Starting from the electric outdoor heaters, it includes propane gas heaters and natural gas heaters. Each one of them is powered by a separate fuel source and every single of these three types comes with its own sets of advantages as well as disadvantages.

Electric Outdoor Heaters

When it comes to the electric outdoor heaters, they provide a convenient heating option to a wide range of homeowners. The reason behind it is that as compared to the other few types, this one is pretty easy to install.

All you need is an electric plug and this device can be installed almost anywhere. You don’t have to worry about their maintenance and it is pretty easy to use an electric outdoor heater.

However, one major limitation with this type of heaters is the fact that you cannot use them far away from an electric plug. They can also cause a major difference in your electricity bills so keep this thing in mind whole making this acquisition.

Propane Gas Heaters

Yet another type of outdoor heaters which is pretty easy to install, the propane gas heaters can be installed anywhere, anytime. You don’t have to worry about an electric plug as all it takes, in terms of setting the propane gas heaters, is a mere gas tank. It is pretty easy to carry these heaters from one place to the other and you can even use them during an outdoor endeavor.

Having said that, the propane gas heaters does require a new gas tank after every few years. In fact, propane itself is more costly as compared to that of natural gas and you can never use these heaters inside an enclosed living space.

Natural Gas Heaters

If you’re one of those homeowners who’re looking to make a budget-friendly purchase, there is no better option than the Natural Gas heaters. They might come at a decent price tag at first, and you also have to spend quite a bit of money in terms of installing these units, this type of outdoor heaters is pretty easy to maintain on the longer run.

Unlike propane gas heaters, there is no need to purchase a separate gas cylinder with the natural gas heaters. All it takes is a stable gas line and you can keep on using these heaters for years to come.

Design

The outdoor heaters comes in three different designs and each one of them is crafted for a separate set of customers.

Starting with the floor standing heaters, they come handy for restaurants, coffee-shops and other such commercial settings where there is no limitation of available floor space.

Coming towards mounted heaters, they are usually the first choice of a wide range of homeowners. When all such customers doesn’t have much floor space available in their patios, they can easily install these heaters without accumulating a lot of space.

Finally, you can purchase the tabletop heaters if there is very little space available in your patio. They might not provide a handful amount of heat and that is the exact reason why tabletop heaters are usually recommended for no more than a couple of persons.

Thermal Power

Manufacturers often use British Thermal Unit (BTU) to measure the thermal power of their outdoor heaters. BTU is basically the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

The more the BTU’s of an outdoor heater, the more the amount of space which it can heat on a consistent basis. So if you’re looking to heat a small radius, you can go with 2000-3000 BTU’s of heat output. However, if you’re going to use this unit in large sized patios, you should go with more than 4000 BTU’s of heat output.

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