Patio Heater Ban Debate

Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall’s report, adopted by the European Parliament on 31st January, includes a call for a ban on outdoor patio heaters. She said:

"...some energy-using products are intrinsically wasteful. Patio heaters burn gas - a fossil fuel - in the open air, producing tonnes of carbon dioxide for very little heat benefit.”

However, in regards to electrical heaters she recently commented:

“The [European] Commission is currently very busy working on labelling a range of some 20 product groups – such as TV set top boxes and domestic light bulbs – in order to take the least efficient grades off the market. The Commission is therefore not likely to consider the feasibility and scope of any patio heater ban for quite some time. If studies showed that some patio heaters were much more efficient than others then an option would be to include such heaters within the normal process of A-G labelling rather than seeking to take all patio heaters off the market.”

Solamagic heaters use infrared, type A & B, technology. The effect of infrared heating is that it warms you and not the air. The Philips HeLeN lamp within Solamagic heaters has a heat band peak in shortwave-A, enabling it to provide a natural warmth, very much like the sun. This along with its special parabolic reflector means heat remains directional, with even distribution, and does not dissipate in the wind. CO2 emissions are virtually zero, causing minimal harm to the environment.

Solamagic heaters are one of the most energy saving alternative to gas heaters because:

• It has minimal direct contribution to heat pollution/global warming
• An impressive 92% of the energy consumed is transmitted as heat resulting excellent energy efficiency.
• Running costs are low