Your Guide To Outdoor Winter Heating

Do you need a guide to outdoor winter heating? There are so many things to love about the winter. Building snowmen, snowball fights, making snow angels, and many other activities you can do with your loved ones are things to look forward to whenever the coldest part of the year comes around. These activities can last even longer when there is a place to get warm nearby.

What people don’t look forward to is being cold, even in areas where winters are supposed to be mild. More often than not, winters can force you to stay indoors most of the time, leaving your outdoor living space unused for most of the season, which would be such a shame if your patio, deck, or back yard is one of the most enjoyable parts of your home.

Then again, this shouldn’t really be the case, not when there are plenty of outdoor heating options from which to choose these days. You can go for an electric outdoor heater or one that burns either solid fuel or gas. Let’s take a closer look at each option to help you decide which one is best for your needs.

Your Guide To Outdoor Winter Heating

Solid Fuel Heaters

Of the three main types of outdoor area heaters, the one that burns solid fuel to produce heat is perhaps the most cost-effective. After all, wood, paper, wood chips, charcoal, wood pellets, and other types of solid fuel are cheaper than either gas or electricity.

As for the type of solid fuel heater you can put in your patio or deck, a common choice would be a fire pit.

Whether you go for a permanent or portable option, a fire pit is perfect for the budget-conscious, and the open flames you can produce with one provide not only heating but a chance to roast marshmallows, chestnuts, and hotdogs on it.

If you want a more contained fire, then you might want to consider a chimenea. Essentially an outdoor and portable fireplace, a chimenea usually has a narrow, vertical chimney and a bulbous body that reminds one of a potbelly stove. Chimeneas are traditionally made of clay, but they now come in cast iron or cast aluminum varieties.

While fire pits and chimineas are a fun way of heating up your outdoor living area, they certainly aren’t the most environmentally-friendly option, what with the smoke burning solid fuel produces. The open flames of a fire pit also present a safety issue, especially if you have kids and pets running around.

If you’re going for a solid fuel heater, make sure you take safety precautions like avoiding woods that throw sparks when lit, never leaving it attended, and extinguishing the flames completely when the day is done.

Gas Heaters

For a more environmentally-friendly outdoor heating option, you can choose to warm up your patio with gas-powered heaters. Whether they burn natural gas or LPG, the flames these heaters produce are clean and odorless. They are also perfect for big outdoor living spaces, and they heat up a much larger area faster than any other option.

Most gas patio heaters have temperature controls that you can easily adjust to suit you. Gas-powered heaters are also portable and don’t require much in the way of maintenance. They come in a variety of designs and styles, too, so make sure you get ones that will go well with the overall look of your outdoor living space.

Electric Outdoor Heaters

Gas-fired heaters are good, but if you want an outdoor heater that doesn’t burn any form of fuel in any way, then electric outdoor heaters are the way to go.

Electric heaters are the most environment-friendly outdoor heating option available today. They’re also the safest, as they are less likely to cause a fire, although such heaters are not without risk, as they are still very hot and can cause burns if your skin comes into contact with the parts that house the heating element.

Electric patio heaters come in a variety of styles. Some are just in “strip” form, which you can install on the ceiling of your patio. You can also opt for freestanding models, which somewhat look like five to eight-feet high lampposts. Other types include wall-mounted and hanging electric heaters.

Whatever type of outdoor heater you choose, you will finally be able to enjoy your home’s outdoor living space even at the height of winter!

Thanks for visiting Preppers Survive. Before you leave subscribe to our newsletter. If you enjoyed this article, please share it on your favorite social media.