Whats the problem with patio heaters?
“It is hard to imagine a device that inflicts more gratuitous damage on the environment,” says Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper. And green campaigners aren’t the only ones taking extravagant verbal potshots at the growing popularity of the outdoor dining accessories. Environment minister Elliot Morley waded into the debate this week, dismissing them as a “luxury” and urging chilly suburbanites to consider their contribution to climate change before nipping down to the local B&Q. If heating the inside of the house is expensive, then just imagine how much energy it takes to heat the outside. Some patio heaters churn out a whopping 14 kilowatts, easily the same as an entire houseful of standard electric fan heaters on full blast. Some of the opprobrium is probably unfair – similar heaters have been used to warm large open spaces including factories and supermarkets for years – but patio versions are notably less efficient because they don’t use fans. This means that lots of the
