Since your patio heater is, after all, a heater, you need to make sure that it can keep you warm. In order to figure out whether your patio heater is going to provide you all the heat that you need, you need to consider watts and BTU. The balance between saving energy and ensuring that your heater is strong enough is going to be a difficult one. However, the best heaters are going to be energy efficient, powerful, and small enough to fit on the average patio.

The amount of BTU you need will depend on a number of factors. First, you need to calculate the area of your patio. If you do not need to heat up your entire patio, then you are going to need to be able to figure out the area of the region that you want your patio heater to heat up. Add a couple of square feet to the area that you calculated because the label on some of the patio heaters might choose to exaggerate the actual BTU or it might choose not to take certain external factors into consideration.

The second thing you need to figure out in order to determine your required BTU is how much warmer than the outdoor temperature you need your patio to be. You should also overestimate this number a tiny bit just in case you end up outside when it is a little bit colder than you initially expected. By multiplying together, the desired temperature increases and the area of your patio, you will get the number of BTUs that you need to ensure that your patio heater will be strong enough for you. You also need to figure out how many watts you need. All you have to do is calculate the radius of the circle of heat you home your heater will cover. Multiply this radius by 100, and the result should be the minimum number of watts you need to ensure you are heating everything up. You may feel free to overestimate the watts as well just in case.

The best patio heaters are going to be a size and shape that will fit on the average patio. However, when it comes to determining the perfect size for a patio heater, the size of your patio is not the only factor that you need to take into consideration. If you have a table, some chairs, or anything else already sitting on your patio heater, then there is a chance that you need a smaller heater. Unfortunately, the smaller heater might not be as powerful, but you may only need to heat the area with the table and chairs. After all, this is the area where people will most likely be sitting around. If your table is big enough, you may even be able to put a patio heater on top of it in order to get just the right radius of heat to cover everyone who may be sitting at the table.

If you truly do not have enough space for the heater, then wall mounted heaters can save you some space. The downside of these heaters is that they do not cover a circle of space. You would need to be sitting or standing almost directly underneath it in order to reap all the benefits that this type of heater has to offer. However, it definitely does have an advantage if you have a smaller or more crowded patio. Since they do not take up any space, you can even buy more than one in order to increase the amount of space that they cover.

Without a doubt, you do not want your patio heater to break. It should be sturdy so that it does not fall over that easily. It should be made from materials that last a long time. It should be able to withstand a certain amount of bad weather. In fact, the best heaters will not break in a storm. Other heaters, while definitely reasonably strong, are best taken inside during a more serious storm, which is probably not the biggest hassle in the world, especially considering you are unlikely to be using your patio if there is a storm raging. Additionally, heaters should be able to withstand hot temperatures for a long time. If they are conducting heat, then they cannot be made from materials that wear down under extremely high temperatures. Otherwise, they are going to break easily. You definitely want to be able to get your use of your patio heaters, so make sure that you will not have to replace them all that quickly. Eventually, they may need a replacement, but you ideally want them to last for several years or more before they stop working properly.

Heaters can provide both a fire hazard and a burn hazard. Therefore, you want a heater that is safe as it possibly can be. Since heaters are safer on flatter surfaces, you want a sturdy heater that is not easily dented or tilted. Some heaters will also come with safety features in order to ensure that they shut off if they sense some sort of danger. Burning is definitely more difficult to avoid. If heaters did not get hot, then neither would anyone trying to benefit from the heater. However, there are still plenty of safety features out there that can prevent burning. Some have cages and similar types of coverings around the flames. These coverings do not get hot, but they still allow heat to reach you because they have holes. Another common safety feature is to have handles or stands that can be safely touched without burning yourself as long as you stay away from the part of the heater that is hot.

You can find any heater for any budget, but you also want to make sure that your heater works well enough for you. With all the best heaters, you are going to get exactly what you paid for. While you should definitely have a realistic budget, you should not expect to pay an insane price for a patio heater that is not also insanely good.

Fuel is another cost that you definitely have to think about when purchasing a heater. Natural gas and electric heaters will use gas or electricity from your own home, which is definitely the easiest options and you will only have to pay for what you use. However, some patio heaters use propane tanks, and you will have to purchase that yourself. If you are not willing to spend time or money buying propane tanks, then you will want to consider a heater that uses gas or electricity from your home.