Electric or Gas Patio Heaters? Compare the Installed Scope, Not Just the Appliance

The lower quotation is tempting, although a price comparison has not really begun yet. Where does its price stop? At the boxed appliance, the mounting bracket, the utility connection, or a system that has been commissioned and handed to the restaurant team? Until that is answered, the two prices on the desk may describe different purchases.

Electric and gas heating can be considered on that basis. Pick an occupied area and ask what it takes to heat that area in ordinary use. The fuel choice comes into a much clearer discussion once the installation is on the page.

Price the tables you actually use

Give both suppliers the same seating drawing. Mark the tables used early in the evening and those that only fill later. Include the operating hours, the terrace orientation and the enclosure as it will be used, including lowered screens.

A coverage figure in a catalogue is a starting question for the specialist, not a promise that the last chair gets useful warmth. Position and exposure need attention. If one proposal heats a different part of the terrace, its lower price tells you little about the comparison you meant to make.

The alternatives are introduced in Stratco's comparison of gas and electric heaters. That is background reading for the buyer; a selected appliance and the actual site still have to be reviewed before an order is agreed.

Ask the trades what the connections allow

There may be a spare socket by the door. That does not establish capacity for the proposed electric heaters. A gas connection nearby leaves a similar question unanswered. In each case, the equipment and proposed position need assessment by the relevant qualified trades.

Outdoor-use restrictions, supervision and the appliance instructions are addressed in Energy Safe Victoria's guidance for portable gas heaters in public places. It is guidance for its stated scope and jurisdiction. For a terrace elsewhere, the applicable local assessment is still required; this document is not its site approval.

Check the electricity question on gas offers as well. In the Bromic Platinum gas range, an electrical supply is specified for ignition. The buyer therefore has an electricity question to resolve on that gas proposal, rather than being able to exclude electrical work simply from the fuel description.

Follow an ordinary evening through to closing

Ask the operator to describe the controls. Which switch serves the corner tables? Can a closing employee check that everything is off? How is operation dealt with when power comes back after an interruption? It is preferable for the closing team to understand the answer before equipment is ordered.

The combination of heater and controller needs confirmation from the installer and manufacturer. A generic smart relay cannot be assumed a suitable substitution just because it switches another appliance. Use the exact manual too: Bromic's technical library has separate product documents. Another model's mounting dimensions are not a substitute.

Put installation, utility changes, mounting parts, controls and commissioning beside the equipment cost. Include reinstatement, routine maintenance and access for replacement. For portable gas equipment, ask who handles cylinders and storage. Assign anything excluded from an offer to somebody before approving the total.

Operating estimates need the selected model's input figures, actual tariffs and a stated use pattern. Heating every zone continuously is a different estimate from using a few tables occasionally. With the assumed hours and zones written beside the calculation, another reviewer can see which operation was being priced.

Luvia Outdoor can discuss sourcing against the locally reviewed accessory brief. Send the equipment schedule and exclusions, including the destination-market work arranged separately by the project team.