Patio Heaters - The Facts

In recent months there have been a number of articles relating to the negative environmental impact of patio heaters. These articles have been inspired by the forthcoming smoking ban and everyone's perception that the sale of these appliances will increase - indeed Stephen Pound MP in a tongue in cheek way encouraged people to buy shares in patio heater manufacturers.

• The Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) estimates that the number of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) patio heaters is around 630,000 in the domestic sector and between 3,000 and 12,500 in the hospitality sector (pubs, restaurants and hotels).
  
  The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association has provided sales figures for LPG supplied in cylinders sized for outdoor heating appliances each year. From the Association's 2005 figures the MTP estimates that annual carbon dioxide emissions from patio heaters in the UK are around 22,200k tonnes. (Extract: Hansard 06/06/06)

• Certain articles also suggest that patio heaters emit non-directional heat and are very energy inefficient thereby just heating the outdoors. In reality patio heaters project heat downwards to warm the immediate area and the people within it, not the wider surrounding air. They can actually achieve efficiencies of around 75% (manufacturers figures).

• Calor has always encouraged the responsible use of its Alfresco product range and maintains dialogue with consumers on an ongoing basis to ensure they remain aware of environmental issues connected to these appliances. We have produced a leaflet that gives specific advice on environmentally sensitive and safe usage which is also featured on our website.

• Modern lifestyles encompass a wide range of activities that result in carbon dioxide emissions, but the use of patio heaters contributes a very small fraction indeed. For example, a large television left on standby will produce more carbon dioxide each year than the average annual use of a patio heater. Similarly it would take 12 years of average single patio heater use to create the same level of carbon dioxide emissions caused by a single passenger flying from Birmingham to Majorca and back.

• Clearly the recent announcement relating to the smoking ban will increase the sales of all outdoor heaters, including LPG models which emit far less CO2 than electric equivalents.

• Calor had no involvement in encouraging or discouraging the smoking ban and the growth in popularity of patio heaters simply reflects consumers' desires to spend more time outdoors with friends and family. An activity which has universally acknowledged quality of life benefits.