Outdoor heaters - environmental issues

Gas patio heater

In January 2008, Euro MPs voted to consider a ban on patio heaters as part of a drive to cut CO2 emissions. There has been a considerable amount of misreporting concerning this issue, not least an assertion reported in the media that an outdoor gas patio heater produces over 4 tonnes of CO2 in a year - more than a small family saloon car. Please be assured, they don't!

Here are the real facts:

There are currently *635,000 gas patio heaters in service in the UK. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) estimated in its document 'Green Barometer' that average emissions per patio heater are 50kg per year. The real figure, derived from actual use of propane gas by Calor, the UK supplier of liquid propane bottled gas, is even lower. Average CO2 emissions per gas patio heater are 35kg per annum. This is 0.00875% of 4 tonnes. Calor rightly states that the overall impact of gas patio heaters on emissions is “very minimal”.

However, emissions aside, we still cannot condone the use of gas patio heaters. They smell. They’re noisy. And these massive metal ‘mushrooms’ take up precious patio space. After a year or two, they look tatty, and they require annual maintenance to continue working well.

For health and safety reasons, commercial organisations SHOULD store propane gas bottles securely, e.g. in locked steel cages, and SHOULD NOT move the bottles when customers are present. These practical points mitigate against using gas patio heaters in commercial settings. Many businesses are not aware of this.
Much of the heat a gas patio heater produces is absorbed by moisture in the air. Because hot air rises, nearly all of the warmth they produce (together with some environmentally harmful gas bi-products) floats up into the atmosphere. So it is wasted energy.
Gas patio heaters do not produce much short wavelength infrared, so you need to be very close to them to receive any benefit at all.
Typical fuel-efficiency of a gas patio heater is around 65%.
Gas patio heaters are not recommended for use under awnings.

Gas v.electric
Gas patio heaters usually have an output of around 10-15kW. This compares poorly with an electric infrared quartz halogen heater. A SunSwitch Weathersafe™ quartz halogen electric heater draws only about a tenth of the energy used by a gas patio heater, so CO2 emissions are correspondingly very much smaller.

SunSwitch quartz halogen electric heaters do not work by heating the air - the radiant warmth is directed only where it is required - and the heat they produce does not blow away.
SunSwitch heaters are 93% efficient at converting power into heat. This means they are extremely energy-efficient, not just compared with gas patio heaters, but with all other heating technologies.
SunSwitch heat is in a highly useable form for warming the human body, so you use less energy to feel comfortable.

Ultimately, the difference in energy useage between gas and electric patio heaters is reflected in their running costs. At least £1.50 an hour for gas, but only 5-10% of that for electric quartz halogen infrared. You choose!

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*source: Calor Gas Limited.