Getting Your Outdoor Heating Right (Without Burning the Roof Down)
If you’re putting infrared heaters in your patio or restaurant, you’re probably thinking about one thing: keeping people in their seats. But there’s a bit of a science to it. You want your guests to feel a nice, steady warmth around their shoulders, not feel like they’re being grilled from above while their toes are freezing.
Give Your Ceiling Some Breathing Room
Here’s the thing about radiant heat—it moves in straight lines. If you slap a high-powered heater too close to your ceiling or awning, you’re just creating a pocket of trapped heat. You’re wasting electricity and, in some cases, actually damaging your roof. I usually suggest leaving at least 2 to 3 feet of space between the heater and the ceiling. But don’t go too low either. If the heater is too close to the customer’s head, you get that annoying “hot head, cold feet” feeling. It’s uncomfortable. And when guests are uncomfortable, they leave. You want the heat to spread out and cover the whole table.
Warm Guests Spend More. Period.
Cold patios are a margin killer. When people are shivering, they don’t linger. They order one drink, keep their coats on, and bolt the second the check hits the table. The trick is to create a “warm zone.” Instead of buying one massive, blindingly hot unit, try a few mid-range heaters spaced out evenly. It stops those awkward cold gaps between tables. When the air around the table feels like a cozy 20°C (68°F), people relax. They order that second bottle of wine. They stay for dessert.
The Balancing Act
Depending on what you buy, you’ll run into some trade-offs. Shortwave heaters are great because they hit you instantly—perfect for those windy nights where the heat usually blows away. But they have a narrow reach. If you mount them too high to protect your ceiling, the heat might vanish into the night air before it ever reaches the guest. You have to find that sweet spot between the wattage of the unit and how high you hang it. It’s all about making sure the warmth actually lands on the customer.