Electric infrared patio heater
Updated: 22 October 2026
You want the chairs on a covered terrace usable on an October evening, and the listing in front of you promises a waterproof electric infrared patio heater. Radiant heat can warm the people in the beam. It will not heat the lawn, and it will not forgive a coiled extension lead or a manual that says indoor only. This page stays with shelter, sockets and seating. Indoor towers and panels stay on our [infrared heater comparison](/hub/heating/infrared-heater). Figures are from amazon.co.uk listings saved on 19 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings. We did not run a weather lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You want the chairs on a covered terrace usable on an October evening, and the listing in front of you promises a waterproof electric infrared patio heater. Radiant heat can warm the people in the beam.
You want the chairs on a covered terrace usable on an October evening, and the listing in front of you promises a waterproof electric infrared patio heater. Radiant heat can warm the people in the beam. It will not heat the lawn, and it will not forgive a coiled extension lead or a manual that says indoor only. This page stays with shelter, sockets and seating. Indoor towers and panels stay on our infrared heater comparison. Figures are from amazon.co.uk listings saved on 19 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings. We did not run a weather lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Output | IP claim | Mount | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  SOUTHEATIC SOUTHEATIC TW30R | Up to 3000 W | IP65 claimed, thin sample | Wall or ceiling | 8.0 | about £179.97 | View offer |
 Harrier Harrier 2000 W patio | 2000 W, three steps | IPX4 claimed | Stand or wall | 8.7 | about £48.99 | View offer | |
 Pro Breeze Pro Breeze PB-H16 | 1000–2000 W | IP65 title, check manual | Wall or ceiling | 7.8 | about £79.99 | View offer |
On this page
Why radiant heat works outdoors
A fan heater warms air, and on a patio that air leaves. An electric infrared patio heater heats the people and surfaces the beam reaches, so a glowing tube under a gazebo can feel useful on a still evening. Your front can be warm while your back, facing the garden, is not. One bar belongs over one group of chairs.
A roof or gazebo keeps rain off the heater and off you. An IP rating is not a room. Outdoor outputs here are 2,000 W on the Harrier and the Pro Breeze, and up to 3,000 W on the SOUTHEATIC. On the Ofgem Great Britain Direct Debit cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 (26.32 p/kWh; Northern Ireland is outside it), that is about 53 p an hour at 2 kW and about 79 p an hour at 3 kW. You pay for the hours the bar is on.
IP65, IPX4 and a manual that disagrees
Read the title, the IP bullet and the manual together. IPX4 or IP44 means splashes. IP65 means jets. Electrical Safety First looks for an outdoor socket of at least IP44, rated separately from the heater. None of these marks clears a bathroom zone under BS 7671, and none means the bar is happy in driving rain with no cover.
The Harrier claims IPX4 and can stand or hang. Some listing answers mention IPX4 when the booklet does not print it, so check the paper before you leave it out all winter. The Pro Breeze puts IP65 in the title, with a remote. At least one reviewer said the instructions read indoor only. If your manual forbids outdoor use, it is an indoor bar. The SOUTHEATIC claims IP65 on 11 reviews, so confirm the code in the booklet on day one. The wider check order is the infrared heater buying guide.
RCD, a 13 A plug, and no extension lead
Use a UK 3-pin plug in an outdoor socket of at least IP44, on a circuit with RCD protection. Electrical Safety First says not to use an extension lead. A 3 kW bar, the SOUTHEATIC’s top setting, sits at the top of a 13 A plug at about 230 V. A reel left coiled beside the stand is how the reel overheats.
If the factory cable stops short, stop. The Harrier lead is 1.8 m. The Pro Breeze cable is 182 cm. Move the mount or have an electrician fit a socket. Do not add a second bar on a double adaptor. In England, plugging into an existing socket is not Part P notifiable work. A terrace socket that does not exist yet is an electrician’s job. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own building rules. A plug that smells or runs hot should come out of the wall.
Point the beam at the chairs
Put the heater where the beam meets chests and laps, not where it only paints the tabletop or shoots over heads. Above the seating group, tilted down, with at least one metre from gazebo fabric, cushions and any folded cover, matches the Electrical Safety First clearance. People sit in the beam beyond that gap.
Two or three chairs under one 2,000 W bar is a practical layout. The person at the end of the row may feel less than the person in the centre, so move that chair inward before you turn the heater up. A second group of seats needs a second heater on its own socket. The Harrier’s weighted base, about 9 kg in the title, is the freestanding option. Put it on paving that does not rock. Wall mounting needs a structure that can hold the arm. Indoor towers such as the Warmlite and SONBION stay off this patio plan: a bullet that mentions outdoor use is not an IP rating plus an outdoor manual. Day-to-day switching off, once the bar is in place, is on how to use an infrared heater.
Which outdoor row to shortlist
The Harrier is the lower-price outdoor shortlist: 2,000 W, stand or wall, IPX4 claimed, about £48.99, 4.4 from 342 reviews, with the limit that the booklet may not repeat the splash rating. The Pro Breeze adds a remote and an IP65 title at about £79.99, and you open the booklet before drilling because some copies were read as indoor only. The SOUTHEATIC is the 3,000 W wall bar at about £179.97, on only 11 reviews, and it fills a 13 A socket by itself. Check the live amazon.co.uk price before you order. These three figures are the outdoor band saved on 19 October 2026. An indoor quartz tower on the main comparison is a different product.
Common questions
Will an infrared heater heat the whole garden?
It heats people and furniture in the beam, under cover. A 2,000 W or 3,000 W patio bar does not warm an open lawn or a second seating area behind a screen. Two groups need two heaters and two safe supplies. Wind and rain still decide whether you want to be outside. Plan for the chairs you already use, not for the lawn beyond the cover.
Can I plug a patio heater into an extension reel?
Electrical Safety First says no. Plug the heater’s own lead into an outdoor socket of at least IP44, with RCD protection. A coiled reel and a 2 kW or 3 kW load is a pattern electrical-safety guidance warns against. If the lead is short, move the heater or fit a socket. Do not add a second bar on a double adaptor.
What IP rating do I need for a UK patio socket?
At least IP44 for the socket, which is the Electrical Safety First line. The heater can carry a different mark: IPX4 on the Harrier claim, IP65 on the Pro Breeze and SOUTHEATIC claims. Match the manual to the title. IP65 does not mean any bathroom, and it does not make an unsheltered wall in a storm a good place to leave the bar running.
Can I use an outdoor bar indoors?
Only if that unit’s manual allows indoor use. These three rows are sold as patio heaters. The Pro Breeze record includes manuals read as indoor only, which would make an outdoor mount the wrong fix. Indoors, keep one metre from curtains and sofas. A patio bar is a blunt tool for a bedroom.
How far should furniture be from the heater?
At least one metre from anything that can burn or melt, including cushions and gazebo liners. Sit in the beam outside that zone. If the only wall that faces the chairs puts the tube closer than a metre to the canopy, use a stand on the paving or move the chairs. Do not hang a windbreak across the face of the heater.
Why is only one side of me warm?
You are sitting in a beam, not in a heated room. Your chest faces the bar and warms up. Your back faces the garden and does not. A blanket on the cold side, or a chair turned slightly, is the practical fix. A fan heater outdoors mostly heats air that leaves, which is why the radiant bar is the tool for this terrace.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest. Listing prices were saved on 19 October 2026.
- Ofgem, changes to the energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Regulation (EU) 2015/1188 on legislation.gov.uk (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- BSI, BS EN 60335-2-30:2009+A13:2022, room heaters (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Electrical Safety First, portable heaters (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Electrical Safety First, patio heaters (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- GOV.UK, fire safety in the winter (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Electric Radiators Direct, what size infrared heater do I need (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Infrared Heaters Direct, infrared heating buying guide (retrieved 21.10.2026)