Stay warm
Below is a list of ten things we would rather ban before even considering the restrictions on Outdoor Heaters to help tackle climate change being debated today in the European Parliament.
Patio heaters can be an important luxury in your off-grid life. There is often not a big difference between the temperature inside or outside your shelter, especially in spring and autumn, so you spend more time outside than most. And as in Sweden, you find that an outdoor heater is a joyous thing. Anyway, they have a minimal effect on the climate, especially the MOST EFFICIENT 37,500 BTU’s FROM AMAZON US
Because they rely on highly finite Calor gas (butane or propane) bottles, there is littlel moral hazard. When you live off-grid you are always watching your energy consumption. You would stupid to go out for the evening and leave your patio heater burning. Before the EU legislates for stupidity amongst the owners of Patio heaters:
TEN THINGS TO BAN BEFORE PATIO HEATERS
10. Stretch limousines
9. First-class check-in at Airports
8. Plasma TV Screens
7. Travel allowances and research budgets for MEPs, MPS and Senators
6. Chewing gum
5. Political advertising during elections – let them go on the stump
4. Free newspapers — trees die for nothing
3. Celebrity charity events
2. Electrical equipment on standby
AND THE NUMBER ONE THING TO BAN BEFORE PATIO HEATERS
Building new golf courses – they suck up the world’s water supply!
‘The overall impact of outdoor heaters on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions is very minimal, and once you look at the domestic models used in homes, the impact is almost non-existent,’ he said.
‘Once comparisons start with wellknown offenders such as aeroplanes, outdoor heaters dwarf in comparison. In fact, plasma TVs produce far more CO2 than patio heaters when you compare normal usage patterns for each appliance.
‘What constitutes a waste of energy is always going to be open to debate but it is important that the public is properly educated about environmental impacts.’
Dr Johnson said Government figures showed that emissions from all domestic patio heaters amounted to 22,200 tons of carbon dioxide – only 0.002 per cent of the total UK CO2 emissions.
By contrast, TVs produce 4.6million tons of CO2 a year in the UK. It would take an equivalent of more than five patio heaters to produce as much CO2 as one TV on stand-by mode does in a year.
Today’s European Parliament vote was initiated by Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall, who represents the North-East.
She has also called for the abolition of the stand-by mode on electrical appliances and new EU-wide minimum standards for energy efficiency covering air conditioning, TV ‘decoder’ boxes and lightbulbs.
If her motion is passed the Commission will have to consider it. The resolution does not specify how long the phasing-out period should be, saying the decision should be left to the Commission.
One Response
In absolute terms I’m sure they do have virtually no impact, and if we disregard the silly anti-politician posturing in the above list of 10 things then for sure there are more significant problem areas to tackle.
But patio heaters are a complete unnecessary frippery, and there IS something morally obscene about heating the outside.
They should go – no doubt about it.