Garden heater running costs and energy supply

The cost of running a patio heater is dependent upon the power output of the heater and, in the case of temperature adjustable models, the heat settings used.

Naturally, the larger and more powerful the heater, the higher the fuel bills will be. Equally, a heater will have to run higher and harder on a cold day than a cool one which again has an impact on energy consumption. This point may also determine whether or not a halogen heater will be effective in satisfying your patio heater requirements. These heaters are cheap to run, but do have a limited single unit heat output.

Running cost examples

Here are some typical garden heater running costs for heaters of different types and power outputs.

Electric halogen patio heaters

Halogen heaters are very cheap to run, but they do have output and directional limitations. This means that, with wall mounted units, it is often necessary to have more than one heater and to have the heaters encircling the patio area requiring warmth.

A 1.3kW halogen heater with cost about 10 pence (UK) or 6 to 8 cents (USA) per hour. It will heat an area of between 8 to 10 square metres or 90 to 100 sq feet.

A (single) 2kW halogen heater will cost about 14 pence (UK) or 9 to 11 cents (USA) per hour. It will heat an area of 14 to 15 sq metres or 150 sq feet.

Halogen heaters only heat objects that are in the direct line of their rays and provide no residual or ambient heat, this is why they are described as directional.

Gas patio heaters

There are two kinds of gas types that can be used for garden heaters. One is butane and the other is propane. They are generally supplied in colour coded bottles (propane being typically red or white and butane being typically blue). Propane is considered to be the more desirable option for patio and garden heaters.

Gas bottles or cylinders come in different sizes that suit different heaters and their outputs and burning capacities.

Gas bottles are generally sold by refill weigh and a 6kg propane refill (where an exchange is made with the previous bottle) is in the region of £25.

The other way to obtain gas is to rent the bottle and pay only for the gas top-ups which can equate to between £10 and £15 for a large 13kg bottle.

In the USA propane prices are generally much cheaper than in the UK and the availability is also greater. Most companies will however deliver refills free of charge.

Depending upon how you obtain your gas, a gas fired patio heater will run at anything from 50 pence to £1.00 per hour (under 50 cents in the USA), but it will produce far more heat and a bigger and non directionally dependant heating circle than a halogen heater. It will also heat the air and warm up any furniture, paving and other structures within its heat circle.

When running on full power, a propane heater will produce over 25 hours of heat from a 13kg bottle.

In short, propane and butane heaters out perform halogen heaters in terms of power output and real heat and are the only single unit option for gatherings of more than a couple of people.

The environment

One common misconception is that electric heaters are cleaner and more environmentally friendly than gas powered heaters. However, research has shown that this may not necessarily be the case. Electricity is generated from gas, oil, solid fuel and nuclear energy and many proponents of gas powered heaters claim that the real emissions (at power stations) are higher for the electric heaters.