Patio heaters began to become popular in restaurants and pubs when the government started to prohibit smoking indoors. A good unit can make the ambient temperature rise by approximately ten degrees. A patio heater uses radiant heat to increase the temperature of objects in the surrounding area.

Radiant heat is sort of like sunshine without being exposed to ultraviolet rays. Instead of the air getting warmer, objects get heated up when they are struck by these waves.

Over the course of time homeowners started to buy patio heaters to warm up their outdoor leisure areas. They're perfect for the area around your swimming pool, on your patio table, or even just by your favorite outdoor chair.

A patio heater could be ideal for you if you live in an area where you have an extended cold season that averages around fifty or sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

A lot of people who live in the southern part of the United States use these heaters between October and the end of February.

In the mountain states most folks use them any time it gets cold, usually between March and November. Many people stop using them after November because it's usually too snowy to sit outside in the mountain states from December through February.

In the north the weather can be really bad during the winter. Therefore, most people will use their heater primarily during the spring and fall. In the northern states they're mostly used during the colder evening hours because of the warmth and comfort they provide.

Many outdoor patio heaters use LP gas, or propane as fuel. Some models deliver the fuel to the heater via the same kind of reusable tanks that you would use for your gas grill. Other models can be attached to natural gas lines. And tabletop patio heaters usually use a small, expendable propane cylinder.

Other types of patio heaters use electricity as their source of power. Although these are available as free standing unites, many of the ceiling mounted or wall mounted radiant patio heaters use electricity to generate their heat.

When purchasing a patio heater one of the things that you may want to consider is the effect of the wind.

A gas fueled patio heater will usually be affected more by the wind than an electric patio heater. That's because wind can upset a gas fueled heater's flame pattern. It will decrease the heat that emanates on the upwind side and also could cause it to get too hot on the downwind side.