How to heat up you terrace or veranda quickly and efficiently
With the arrival of the cold weather season the spaces outside the house are likely to remain unused due to low temperatures.
There are different ways to make them comfortable in every time of the year, maintaining a temperature allowing you to enjoy your terrace, veranda or garden even during the winter.
Most of the restaurants and pubs choose simple braziers - iron containers where to light a small controlled bonfire -, floor standing mushroom gas heaters or gas stoves. Generally this kind of devices are made of painted steel and equipped with an aluminum reflector: its emits the heat produced through LPG gas cylinders.
More and more people, however, choose a much more efficient and sophisticated way to heat up their outdoor environments: we are talking about electric energy heating lamps, high thermal output devices based on the principle of infrared rays. These halogen lamps ensure rapid and optimal heating of the surrounding area.
Let's see the advantages:
- Lower heat dispersion
- Immediate heat diffusion and rapid desired temperature attainment
- Nor combustion cylinders nor dangerous open flames
- 3 different types of installation (horizontal, on floor, suspended)
- Zero carbon dioxide emissions into the environment
- Can be used ad a furnishing accessory
But how do halogen lamps work?
The principle of operation of these outdoor heating lamps is based on irradiation: instead of heating the surrounding air by simple heat transfer through a fluid, these devices heat directly the elements positioned in the surrounding area by infrared radiation.
To make a long story short, the waves are absorbed by solid matter only and not by fluids (as air itself). The radiation emitted by the lamp is "transformed" into heat when it comes into contact with a colder element, which can be a person, an object or a wall.
This means that thermal dispersion is reduced to a minimum, allowing a very efficient and without waste heating: the heat is distributed only where it is needed, thus reducing also energy consumption.
Also, there are several "tricks" to optimize the heat produced by these innovative devices:
- Place them in the right place
The heating elements must be positioned around the open area and facing inwards, in order to obtain a uniform and comfortable temperature. - Opt for at least two heating elements
As these lamps heat solid matter in their range of action only, with a single heating source your back will remain cold when facing it - thwarting your efforts to make the external environment a place where to maintain a high level of comfort. If, on the other hand, the heat comes from at least two directions, you will be completely surrounded by heat, just like in an interior space.
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Choose the appropriate power for your type of environment
In an outdoor area not shielded from the wind, the power required to achieve comfortable warmth is high. Generally, it is estimated to be 750-1000 W / m².
In partially closed spaces obtaining a comfortable indoor temperature is simpler thanks to the absence of the wind; however, the feeling of cold may remain, as in most cases the structures have poor thermal insulation. In this case too, therefore, a high power will be needed, even if lower than in outdoor installations. The estimated required power is 250-600 W / m², which can vary according to the existing insulation.
