Stop Letting Your Patio Go Cold in the Winter
It’s a frustrating sight: a beautiful outdoor dining area sitting completely empty just because the temperature dropped. Most people try to fight this with standard space heaters, but here’s the problem—they just try to warm the air. In an open-air setting, the wind just carries that heat away before it ever reaches your guests. It’s a waste of money. We do things differently with high-density infrared (IR) heaters. Instead of fighting the breeze, these emitters send heat directly to the people and the furniture. It’s like sitting in the sun on a crisp autumn day. The secret is speed. We use shortwave emission because it hits your guests the second they sit down. No waiting around for the area to “warm up.” When people feel cozy immediately, they relax. They stay for that extra round of drinks or a dessert they weren’t planning on ordering. It’s pretty simple: if they’re warm, they spend more. But you can’t just plug these into any old outlet. These units pull a lot of power. If you’re putting in a few 2kW or 3kW heaters, you need to make sure your electrical panel can actually handle it. Nobody wants the power to cut out right in the middle of a Friday night rush. I always suggest zoning your heaters. That way, your staff can turn them down as the patio fills up so your guests don’t end up sweating. One more thing to keep in mind: IR heat is all about a clear line of sight. If you put a big pillar or a fancy umbrella between the heater and the table, you’ve just created a cold spot. Placement is everything here. We also use heavy-duty, weather-resistant housings because, let’s face it, the outdoors are brutal on equipment. When you get this right, your patio stops being a “seasonal” thing and starts making money all year round. You stop losing seats to the weather and finally get the most out of every square inch of your space.