Stop Losing Money Every Time the Temperature Drops
It’s a nightmare for any restaurant owner. You’ve got a beautiful outdoor space, but the second a chill hits the air, those tables go empty. Most people try to fix this with forced-air heaters—you know, the ones that blow hot air around. The problem? That heat just vanishes into the sky the moment it leaves the vent. It’s a waste of electricity and your guests are still shivering. That’s why we use ceiling-mounted infrared heaters. Instead of trying to heat the entire outdoors (which is impossible), these heaters target the people and the furniture. It feels like sitting in a patch of sunlight on a crisp autumn day. Getting the placement right If you mount these between 2.5 and 4 meters up, you create a “warm zone” right over your tables. Your guests don’t need those clunky plastic windbreaks or heavy blankets that take forever to wash. The heat just sinks right through their clothes. When people actually feel warm, they linger. They order that extra bottle of wine or a dessert they weren’t planning on. It’s a win-win. A quick word of caution You have to be smart about the wattage. If you put a high-power lamp too low, your guests will end up with toasted heads while their toes are still freezing. It’s a weird feeling and it’s not a great dining experience. We usually suggest a staggered layout. It keeps the warmth steady across the whole patio so there are no “cold spots.” Does it actually pay off? The math is pretty basic. More usable space means more people eating and drinking. If you can push your outdoor season from six months to ten, the electricity bill is a drop in the bucket compared to the extra revenue. Installation is easy—just a standard electrical job to get them wired into the ceiling. Once they’re up, there are no moving parts to break. The only thing you really need to do is keep the reflectors clean. If dust builds up on those mirrors, you lose about 10-15% of your heat. A quick polish every now and then keeps everything running at full blast.