Have you noticed that your outdoor areas get neglected when the cold season arrives in favor of staying warm inside? Well, you don’t have to abandon your outdoor living space during winter anymore. Instead, you can adopt a few simple measures to make it a warm, cosy and hospitable space year round. With this in mind, the focus of this article is to provide a guide to heating your outdoor spaces during winter.
Fire Pit
Over the years, fire pits have become a common type of outdoor heating solution. Their popularity is partly due to the way people seem to inherently enjoy staring into a dancing fire.Characteristically designed to be fitted low to the ground, they can be constructed or purchased in any shape or size. Furthermore, they are made from a variety of materials. While the wood-burning ones are common, the preference for gas fire pits has been growing in recent years because they offer an environmentally-friendly, less fuss option. Additionally, they guarantee better air quality without having to worry about having a face full of smoke as the wind changes.
The best use of fire pits is in expansive outdoor living spaces, pool decks, or a backyard that needs a centerpiece to gather around. Fire pits are not suitable in enclosed areas, smaller spaces or areas with a low roof cover. They bring with them a fair few more risks than other options in our list with smoke and embers a potential problem and reduced suitability if you have young children around. Additionally if it rains open air fireplaces are going to be no good.
Strip heaters
This kind of outdoor heating is possibly the best heating option across a wide range of settings and situations. Strip heaters can be wall or ceiling mounted and are good in under cover spaces such as verandahs, patios, garden restaurants and bars. Strip heaters provide a gentle but strong ambient or radiant heat. This type of heat warms people & things directly below or near them, this is the best type of heating for outdoors where you will not be able to increase the overall air temperature like you would in an indoor space.
Strip heaters come in a variety of different sizes and appearances and can be installed yourself. Most versions are minimalist, sleek and modern in appearance so they don’t visually interrupt the space too much. Strip heaters are ideal for patios that have limited space. Another benefit you can draw from using a strip heater is the fact that they utilize directional infrared heating that targets people and objects, great to warm a row of people sitting along a bar or table or an entire group from above. We recommend Ventair’s Heatwave PRO 3200W strip heater, which can be mounted to a ceiling or a wall and offers ambient heating for spaces of up to 150 feet.It has high heat diffusion efficiency, in addition to being economical in terms of energy use when it is compared to traditional outdoor heating solutions. For additional convenience, this outdoor heating appliance comes with remote control capability.
Textures and furniture
Don’t forget to add soft warm textures; comfy furniture, fluffy blankets and plush cushions to your outdoor spaces to make it extra cosy all year round. If you are having people over simply bring a basket of blankets out for guests to help themselves to. It adds to the fun of enjoying the outdoors in winter to curl up with a hot chocolate and a good book, wrap up in a fluffy blanket and enjoy the crisp fresh air. You might not notice the difference so much in summer but sit on a chair without a cushion in winter and you will know about it! Bringing out those added soft warm textures can be the biggest part of changing your outdoor area to suit the winter season.
Outdoor Kitchen
An outdoor kitchen is another way through which you can make your outdoor living space more appealing during the cold seasons. Additions such as a grill, a brick pizza oven, or a BBQ can offer the desired warmth and transform your patio from a no-go-zone during winter to a place where you want to be at any time of the year. Cooking outdoors will warm up the space and add atmosphere and yummy smells to make your outdoor area pleasant no matter the weather. Depending on your preference, the pizza oven, BBQ, or grill can either be free-standing or built-in appliances in your patio. This is an excellent option for year round entertaining, dinner parties and BBQs simply rug up a bit more to account for the temperature difference and you can still have a wonderful time.
If you are looking to extend the time you enjoy on your patio during the cold season, the heating solutions highlighted are exactly what you need. If you follow the ideas in this guide there is no reason why your outdoor living space should be abandoned whenever the winter season arrives. Make it cosy and warm and get out in the fresh air and enjoy it.
