Patio Heaters - Too Hot to Handle?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 04.12.07
This TreeHugger has always found the idea of patio heaters a little absurd – if it’s not warm enough to sit outside, why not move indoors? It would seem the folks at Wyevale Garden Centres agree. According to Friends of the Earth UK, the leading UK chain has announced that all of its stores will stop selling patio heaters due to concerns over their contribution to climate change. Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Craig Bennett welcomed the move:
"We're delighted that Wyevale has decided to stop selling patio heaters, and urge other retailers to follow suit. Using a patio heater for just one hour can waste enough energy to make 400 cups of tea. Climate change is the biggest threat the planet faces and the responsible thing for companies to do is to stop selling the most polluting products".
Apparently these items are a hot [sorry] topic in the UK, with former energy minister Malcolm Wickes describing them as “environmental obscenities”. Meanwhile, former Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, Norman Baker, called them "an absurd invention" saying that "It is ludicrous that people are trying to heat the open air". There are even some grave concerns that the forthcoming ban on smoking in pubs will lead to huge increases in emissions as landlords seek to keep their smoking clientele happy.
According to a Guardian report, Wyevale Garden Centers are also planning to phase out 90% of peat-based products over the next three years. Given the urgent need to protect remaining peat bogs, this is a very welcome move indeed.
I'm becoming more and more convinced that "environmentalists" are crotchety old people who never like to have fun.
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Author's note:
I don't see how burning up tonnes of propane, just to keep a small outside space artificially warm, is that much fun. There's plenty of fun to be had indoors when it's cold out...
Yeah exactly....treehuggers won't spoil my fun.....if I can afford to waste stuff, that's my problem.....how DARE anyone suggest that I may be just that teensy bit decadent.....I will have my patio heater, "Because I'm worth it !®"
Now could someone please pass another 100 pound note, I need to relight my cigar
I see a man and a woman in that picture in short sleeves. They could forgo the ridiculously wasteful heater if they simply put on a long-sleeve shirt and maybe a light jacket.
Of course, putting on a long sleeve shirt or jacket is what your mother used to make you do, and isn't any fun. :rolls eyes:
There is only one pub that I enjoy setting outside at during the winter ... that is the Turf Tavern in Oxford which has fires (not heaters) outside where you can roast marshmellows over the open fire! Other than that, during the winter, I am more than happy to pull up a chair next to a warm fire, especially if it is fired with recycled wood.
I am in complete agreement with the first commenter -- this is getting ridiculous. To sit, not in front of the tv, but in convivial evening conversation with friends and family over a delicious meal, watching autumn twilight turn into true dark and the stars (or such as one can find in a city) come out, taking the edge off the chill by, OF ALL THINGS, making fire, surely one of the oldest hallmarks of humanity... since when is this the enemy??
Using a little technology to extend the warm wonderful days of summer is not some gross sin. If it were, we'd have to humorlessly lecture everyone who ever wasted the embedded energy in a cold frame to grow lettuce in their backyard a little earlier in the spring. Non-seasonal lettuce!
Fire for warmth is no "absurd invention". The absurdity is in trying to defend such a position with finger-wagging. How about researching dual-use patio heaters that can run off both propane AND biodiesel, thus giving people the option to warm themselves around a fire only without the deadly smoke that comes from open campfires or chimeneas? How about researching patios that can be sun-warmed during the day with heavy stone floors that can re-radiate heat at night? How about a hot tub that runs off super-efficient wood heaters which feature complete or near-complete combustion?
The fact that there are fun things to do indoors in the winter is not what I tune into Treehugger to find out about. A propane patio heater is pretty obviously a waste of a non-renewable resource. I guess I just expect news of a little more substance from authors, leaving the sarcasm, snark, and "You should be more like me!" mentality for us commenters.
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Author's note:
Apologies if my tone appeared snarky or sarcastic - I do feel our commenters do this best and certainly wouldn't want to compete. And as for suggesting people 'should be more like me', take it from someone who knows, we'd be in big trouble if they were...
Seriously, I do feel that a major chain refusing to sell a profitable product on the grounds of its contribution to climate change is news of substance. Point taken though, that news of alternatives should also be mentioned. Actually, the Guardian report linked to above does say that Wyevale are hoping to offer less polluting options for out door heating.
Tons of carbon huh? How much does this website take up? It's servers? Your computer to post? The world would be better off if treehugger shut down and saved it's tons of carbon that people use to read it. I mean there are plenty of other ways to get your info right?
I agree with the other commentators, I believe this is simply overkill. On the occasion that I've enjoyed a space heater it was an enjoyable experience and to say that they shouldn't be sold because their energy could heat "400 cups of tea" and deprive people of that experience is absurd. Most space heaters are propane or gas powered anyway so that energy couldn't be used for a better purpose.
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P.S. 400 cups of tea is an absurd energy conversion measurement anyway.
"How much does this website take up? It's servers? Your computer to post? The world would be better off if treehugger shut down and saved it's tons of carbon that people use to read it."
Actually, TreeHugger is probably taking about as much as a couple incandescents lightbulbs to operate, and as far as I know all their writers telecommute (I say that because they are spread around the world and they don't seem to have central offices), so they are probably using a lot less energy than if they were working for most other companies.
Also, if TreeHugger succeeds in making only a handful of people changes their habits (and we know that they reach a lot more than a handful of people), they probably are a net positive for the environment.
Patio heaters make as much sense as patio air conditioning for hot days.
It's ridiculous to see people who claim to care try to justify that waste. You won't be any less happy without it, just use your imagination and figure out another way to do things.
I'm perfectly happy sitting outside down to 0F watching the sunset and stars - as long as I wear the appropriate clothing. Wearing short sleeve shirts and firing up a propane heater outside isn't the answer.
Hi just to say that I've set up a website focused on this issue. Patio heaters aren't the biggest cause of carbon emissions but they are the most visible sign of a profoundly wasteful attitude to energy. Without getting into any debate about figures, as environmentalists we have to be able to say "wasting energy is wrong". Banning fossil-fuel based outdoor heating is the only way forward.