A patio heater (also called a mushroom or umbrella heater) is an appliance for generating radiant heat for outdoor use.
A burner on top of a post, burns LPG or propane, and directs the flames against a perforated metal screen. Heat is radiated from the surface of the screen in a circular pattern around the appliance. A reflector atop the burner reflects heat that would be otherwise lost upwards. The chimenea is an alternative to the patio heater for home use, which burns wood instead of gas.
A newer type of Patio Heaters are the InfraRed Patio Heaters, which although claimed to be environmentally friendly use grid electricity. Grid electricity in the UK is 2.9 times more carbon intensive than gas[1].
Patio heaters have become popular with bars and restaurants since they extend the day and the season for their customers to sit outdoors. This increase in the popularity of the patio heater has led to concerns over their environmental effects.[2]
References
- ^ "Carbon emissions factors", Carbon Trust, July 2009
- ^ "Patio heaters ban debate hots up", Energy Savings Trust, 25 July 2007
Electric patio heaters are not emissions free. In fact they are actually more carbon intensive than gas ones by a factor of 3. This is because powerplants often have an efficiency of only around 40% and the electricity comes largely from coal which has a much higher emissions factor than gas.
External links
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