When you get out of work in winter it can be frustrating how early the sun disappears. With the sun going down comes the chill and once you’ve gotten home it may feel like you should just stay inside. But what if you’ve just renovated your backyard and created all this outdoor entertainment space? How do you make it livable? You may find yourself wondering how to keep backyard warm in the winter?
How To Keep Backyard Warm In The Winter
Other than building a dome over your entire backyard and sealing it off from the elements, there are some methods you can employ to keep your backyard warm in the winter. These ideas might not keep your entire backyard warm. However, they will each provide you with the opportunity to carve out some usable space during the winter months.
Fire Pits
First there’s the obvious, build a fire pit into your project. While wood burning fire pits are common and have their place, adding a gas fired fire pit to your backyard can make choosing to use the backyard in winter an easy one. There’s no planning required, no wood to collect, no fire starting, and no putting on old clothes to avoid getting your work clothes all smoky.
With today’s modern fire pits it’s just a flip of the switch and you have a fire burning. Make sure you choose to have the automatic ignition system included in your fire pit if you want the easiest to use setup, and you don’t want to risk singing your eyebrows with a match light system. However, if you’re looking for the least expensive way to keep your backyard warm in the winter, there are several great fire pits under $100.
Propane Heaters
Next there are purpose built outdoor heaters to consider. What used to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars is now only a few hundred dollars. You can get a basic propane patio heater from Amazon for under $200. These are simple to use and do the job well. Even the artistically inspired ‘pyramid’ style heaters are getting quite affordable.
Infrared Heaters
If you don’t want to mess with propane tanks, and would rather an all electric solution, infrared heaters have come a long way and are there to meet your needs. As a landscape designer I regularly integrate infrared heaters into covered patios and pergolas to provide that instant heat to take the edge off cold nights.
For built in heaters Infratech is the manufacturer I usually suggest. They have a high end product that comes in multiple sizes for the right applications. Whenever installing an infrared heating solution, it’s important to hire a licensed electrician to handle the installation. Also, make sure to ask yourself two questions. Can your electrical system handle the unit you’re ordering? Next, will the heater throw off enough heat for your installation location?
Bubble Tents
In addition to these methods of creating heat, there’s also a solution to hide from the cold. Bubble tents are growing in popularity every year and can help against winter weather. While they don’t produce heat, you’d be surprised how warm a bubble tent closed off and full of family can stay. Alvantor’s bubble tent can seat up to 10 people and is entirely weather proof. You may recognize these as they became highly sought after for restaurants looking to offer outdoor seating in the winter.
How To Keep Backyard Warm In The Winter Summary
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to keep your entire backyard warm in the winter. However, you can create hot spots to encourage gathering and entertaining in the winter. Making use of your backyard in all seasons is one of the advantages of integrating fire features and heating systems into your backyard design. How to keep backyard warm in winter may not seem like the easiest problem to solve. However, with the purchase of a simple patio heater, you can make sitting outside a comfortable experience.
