AIBU to think all outdoor garden heaters are crap for the environment?

[Sundiamond]

Discussion with partner. I believe that all the outdoor garden/patio heaters are crap for the environment?

He wants to buy one and is disputing this...

So, please confirm I'm right. And if I'm not please let me know which one you bought!

How would they be bad for the environment?

And even if they were, so what if you want one?

Well I guess they are in the sense that it is a waste of energy.

And even if they were, so what if you want one?

And even if they were, so what if you want one?

And there lies the reason the environment is so screwed up.

Yes bad for the environment, they are burning a fossil fuel and as they are outside they have to keep pumping out heat to try and warm up a small area.

It would be like having the heating on full blast with all the windows and doors open, only worse.

YANBU, they are bad for the environment. France has just banned them from restaurants/cafes etc for environmental reasons (ban will come into force after this winter).
If your DP is cold outside, he can just come inside surely

How would they be bad for the environment?

www.energylivenews.com/2020/07/28/french-government-bans-outdoors-heaters-at-cafes-and-restaurants-to-tackle-climate-change/#:~:text=The%20French%20Government%20has%20unveiled,now%20open%20to%20the%20public.

I don't understand why they are marketed in the UK. Completely awful things. I would tell him to put a coat on or go indoors. Welll done France for banning them.

I remember I was in California in April a few years ago. Me and DH were very hot. We were sat outside a restaurant having lunch when a local family turned up and demanded to have the heaters on.

@heartsonacake

How would they be bad for the environment?

And even if they were, so what if you want one?

I genuinely can't believe someone is asking either of those questions.

YANBU. Either it's warm enough to sit outside, with or without a coat or cardi, or it isn't and you go indoors.

Yanbu. I hope the rest of the world follows France and bans them.

Of course they are bad for the environment. Ikm somewhat surprised they haven’t been banned. Perhaps lots of MPs have them?

Yanbu.

This is why we insulate houses, so we aren't just heating the whole world. It is what blankets and coats were invented for (and going inside).

Wretched for the environment.

And depending on the type of heater, if they throw off noxious gases or generate particles because they burn biomass etc. then they can contribute to the worsening of all sorts of respiratory diseases (currently working through commenting on a review about treatment for COPD*).

*NB: I don't like estimates like this, but according to the British Lung Foundation (BLF) which cited statistics from research it funded with some well respected UK institutions, 4.5% of the over-40s in the UK have a confirmed diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. That's thought to be an underestimate.

statistics.blf.org.uk/copd?

Yes they are bad for the environment and a really easy thing to avoid having.

Okay, so they’re bad for the environment. That doesn’t change my second point. If you want one, get one.

It’s not something I’m interested in but if I wanted one this wouldn’t stop me.

I personally do not feel the need to heat up the outdoors at the moment.

@heartsonacake to be fair it's not just people who think the way you do who are the problem, it's the corporations who sell these things to people who think like you and the governments who let them despite having known for decades that we're ruining the environment for human life. But... it is stupid and shortsighted to think the way you do, and it is likely that you'll have reason to be sorry for it within the next 15 years.

As will we all.

@Sundiamond

Discussion with partner. I believe that all the outdoor garden/patio heaters are crap for the environment?

He wants to buy one and is disputing this...

So, please confirm I'm right. And if I'm not please let me know which one you bought!

Put a hoodie on!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

@heartsonacake

How would they be bad for the environment?

And even if they were, so what if you want one?

Ridiculous!! Of course using fuel to heat up outside is terrible for the environment. I despair when I read things like this

We want one for our garden like they have in pub/restaurant outside seating areas.

All the talk in the news about turning down thermostats a degree in houses, and insulating properly, to keep heat in and save energy.
And still people WANT TO HEAT UP THE OUTDOORS. I’m sorry but I find it unbelievable and the pp who said we’ll be sorry for this in the near future is exactly right

Ditto air conditioners and wood burners unless they follow strict regulations. I suspect lots of both of those are installed by stealth

What's the difference between having an outside heater and having a fan or aircon to keep cool? Both are using power to adjust the natural temperature. If you argue heating the outside is unnecessary, so are a lot of things - cars, bicycles, central heating, sewage treatment, schools, television, books. All have an impact on the environment and could be done without (indeed, have been done without for the majority of human history.)