Patio heaters can stretch your outdoor season by months, but the wrong choice leaves you cold and frustrated. Before you spend a few hundred dollars, you need honest numbers on heat output, running costs, and safety, not marketing claims.
Here are 10 head-to-head comparisons between electric and propane patio heaters, starting with the solar option you should stop searching for.
1. The Solar Patio Heater Myth, Busted First
Let us clear this up honestly: true solar-powered patio heaters barely exist as real products. Heating a patio takes serious wattage, and a small solar panel simply cannot collect enough energy to warm outdoor air; the physics does not work at any price a homeowner would pay. What you will find marketed as “solar patio heaters” are usually tiny solar-charged gadgets that produce a faint warm glow at best, or outright misleading listings. If your search results keep pushing solar, skip them. The real choice is electric versus propane, so put your budget toward one of those and ignore the solar distraction entirely.
Best for: Anyone who keeps Googling “solar patio heater” hoping for a free-energy answer.
2. Heat Output: BTU vs. Watts, Translated
Propane patio heaters win the raw-numbers contest: a standard mushroom-style propane heater puts out 40,000 to 48,000 BTU, roughly the output of a small furnace. A typical plug-in electric infrared heater draws 1,500 watts, which converts to about 5,100 BTU, nearly ten times less on paper. But the paper comparison is misleading, because infrared electric heaters warm people and objects directly instead of heating the air, so more of their modest output actually reaches you. Propane heats a bigger zone; electric heats its zone more efficiently.
Best for: Understanding what the spec sheet numbers actually mean.
3. Running Costs: The Math That Decides It
This is where electric pulls ahead for most households. A 20-pound propane tank holds about 4.5 gallons; at typical refill prices of 15 to 25 dollars, and 8 to 10 hours of burn time per tank, propane costs roughly 2 to 3 dollars per hour of heat. A 1,500-watt electric heater running at the US average residential electricity rate of about 17 cents per kilowatt-hour costs around 25 cents per hour. Use it three evenings a week and propane can cost 25 to 35 dollars a month versus under 5 for electric. Check the DOE's Energy Saver program for current average electricity rates.
Best for: Budget planners who will actually use the heater regularly.
4. Upfront Cost and Installation
Propane mushroom heaters typically cost 150 to 350 dollars, ready to use out of the box with a standard 20-pound tank. Electric options range wider: a basic 1,500-watt freestanding infrared unit runs 100 to 250 dollars and plugs into any outlet, while hardwired wall-mounted or ceiling units can run 200 to 500 dollars plus an electrician's visit if you need a dedicated circuit. So propane is cheaper to start and far more expensive to run, while electric sips energy after a slightly higher upfront cost.
Best for: Comparing the true first-year cost of each option.
5. Wind Performance: Electric's Secret Win
Outdoor heating lives or dies by wind, and this is electric infrared's quiet superpower. Propane heaters warm the air around them, and a stiff breeze simply carries that warm air away, which is why propane units feel dramatically weaker on windy evenings. Infrared electric heaters warm solid objects and people directly, so wind steals far less of their effect. If your patio sits exposed on a hill, near the water, or in a wind tunnel between buildings, electric infrared will feel warmer in real conditions even though its BTU rating is lower. For sheltered courtyards, the gap narrows and propane's bigger zone shines.
Best for: Exposed, windy patios where propane struggles.
6. Safety: Open Flame vs. No Flame
Propane heaters contain a live, open flame under a metal hood, which demands respect: keep them clear of anything combustible, never leave them unattended, and store spare tanks upright outdoors, never in the garage. Electric infrared heaters have no flame and no fuel to leak, which removes the two scariest failure modes, but they still get extremely hot and need their manufacturer-specified clearances from walls, ceilings, and fabrics. Both types should have tip-over shutoff switches, and both should be turned off when you go inside. Neither belongs under a low roof or near curtains without checking the manual's clearance diagram.
Best for: Households with kids, pets, or safety-first priorities.
7. Power Logistics: Outlets vs. Tank Swaps
Electric heaters need electricity where you sit, which sounds trivial until your patio's only outlet is 40 feet away. Standard 1,500-watt units max out a normal 15-amp circuit, so do not run one on a long, thin extension cord or share the circuit with a string of power tools. Propane needs no outlet at all, which makes it the only option for seating areas far from the house, but it introduces the eternal tank-swap errand: the tank always runs out mid-party on the coldest night. Keep a full spare tank if you go propane.
Best for: Patios far from the house or with limited outlets.
8. Coverage Area and Placement Strategy
A full-size propane mushroom heater effectively warms a circle roughly 15 to 20 feet across, making it the better pick for large open patios and big gatherings. Electric infrared units cover a tighter zone, roughly 8 to 12 feet across for a single 1,500-watt head, which suits intimate seating areas perfectly. For bigger spaces, zone it: two or three electric infrared heads over the seating areas instead of one propane tower heating the whole yard.
Best for: Matching heater size to your actual seating layout.
9. Lifespan and Maintenance Reality
Electric infrared heaters are nearly maintenance-free: no fuel system, no pilot light, no thermocouple to replace. Wipe them down seasonally, and the heating element typically lasts many years of regular use. Propane heaters need more attention: burner cleaning, pilot and thermocouple checks, regulator inspections, and leak-testing the hose connections every season. Parts are cheap and widely available, but the maintenance is real and skipped maintenance is how propane heaters become unreliable. If you are the type who never changes a furnace filter, be honest with yourself and lean electric.
Best for: Low-maintenance households and set-it-and-forget-it buyers.
10. The Verdict: Which One Should You Buy?
For most suburban patios with an available outlet, electric infrared wins: far cheaper to run, safer with no open flame, better in wind, and nearly zero maintenance. Choose propane if your seating area is far from any outlet, you need to heat a large open space for big gatherings, or you want the classic glowing-mushroom ambiance that electric cannot quite replicate. Either way, buy a model with tip-over protection and follow the clearance diagram in the manual. And if you are thinking about mounting a heater under a roof, read our patio heater under covered patio safety guide first, then browse winter patio transition ideas and fire pit seating area ideas to plan the whole cold-weather setup.
Best for: Making the final call with confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do solar patio heaters actually work? Not in any meaningful sense. Genuine solar-powered patio heaters are essentially nonexistent because heating requires far more energy than a reasonably sized solar panel can collect. Products marketed this way are usually underpowered novelties. Stick with electric or propane.
How much does it cost to run a propane patio heater per hour? Roughly 2 to 3 dollars per hour. A 20-pound tank costs about 15 to 25 dollars to refill and provides 8 to 10 hours of heat on high. That is about ten times the hourly cost of running a 1,500-watt electric heater at average US electricity rates.
Can I use a propane patio heater under a covered patio? Only with strict caution. Propane heaters need significant overhead and side clearances, produce carbon monoxide, and most manuals prohibit use under low or enclosed roofs. Electric infrared is generally the safer choice for covered spaces; check both the manual and our covered-patio safety guide.
Is infrared or propane better for a small patio? Infrared electric, in most cases. A small patio keeps everyone inside the heater's effective zone, where infrared's direct-to-person warmth and wind resistance shine, and the running-cost savings add up fast with regular use.
