With summer just around the corner, more and more people will be heading outside into the garden and taking advantage of the pleasant weather. You can also expect to see an increasing number of restaurant diners and pub-goers eating and drinking outside. However, when the sun goes down, a bit of additional warmth is required if you still want to enjoy the bright and balmy evenings.
But as opposed to trying to get a fire started or covering yourself in a blanket, why not purchase an infrared outdoor heater instead? These super-efficient, cost-effective heaters can provide you with instant warmth on chilly summer evenings. What’s more, they are incredibly safe to use and pose no health risks to you, your friends, family members or valued customers.
But how exactly does this innovative technology work? We are on hand to provide some answers and hopefully help you choose an infrared outdoor heater..
The technical aspects of outdoor infrared heaters explained
To understand how outdoor infrared heaters work, we’ll need to look at the technology behind them in more detail. Essentially, these outdoor heaters will operate in the far infrared spectrum, which can produce sun-like heat tuned between 9-14 micro metres. Electromagnetic waves cause molecules to oscillate and release energy, which is what makes us feel warm.
Unlike ultraviolet rays produced by the sun, which can result in serious skin damage and conditions such as cancer, the narrow range of infrared radiation is completely safe. Therefore, you can rest assured that outdoor infrared heaters won’t compromise your health.
The reason why outdoor infrared heaters are more efficient
In contrast with traditional outdoor heaters, infrared alternatives will direct their energy to surrounding objects rather than the air. Not only does this increase efficiency, but also provides you with more warmth.
Heaters fuelled by oil or gas will use up a lot of energy trying to warm up the air around them. In addition to being incredibly inefficient, this warm air will soon rise and escape your garden or outside space, which is far from ideal.
But outdoor infrared heaters work in a similar way to the sun, which heats the earth and not the atmosphere. Infrared heat rays travel through the air, bounce off objects around the garden and provide us with a great deal of warmth.
Additional advantages of outdoor infrared heaters
Along with their efficient and energy saving benefits, outdoor infrared heaters bring about a number of additional advantages too:
• No maintenance costs – Outdoor infrared heaters do not have any moving parts, so there is no need to worry about motors wearing out or having enough lubrication to work. Therefore, the maintenance costs are minimal.
• No light or red glow – Quartz and halogen outdoor heaters produce a shorter wavelength, which means you need to get closer to the source to get warm. Unfortunately, the bright light and red glow can cause headaches and eye damage. With outdoor infrared heaters, this is not a problem.
•No emissions – Oil and gas outdoor heaters will produce toxic carbon emissions, which aren’t good for the environment and potentially harmful if breathed in. But outdoor infrared heaters are completely clean and very eco-friendly.
•No waiting for heat – As soon as your turn on an outdoor infrared heater, you will start to feel the benefit. Traditional heaters take a while to warm up the air, which can be incredibly frustrating.
•No noise – Unlike traditional outdoor heaters, infrared alternatives do not have a fan and are therefore very quiet. This means an outdoor space will remain peaceful and tranquil.