Heat stretches the season, but it is also where a garden bar can become genuinely dangerous. The rule that matters most is simple: fuel-burning heaters need the ventilation their maker specifies, and they do not belong in a closed shed.
Decide what you are heating
Heating an open counter under a pergola and heating an insulated bar room are different problems. Outdoors, you are warming people, not air, so radiant heat that falls directly on guests makes sense. Inside a building, insulation and draught-proofing do more than any heater can.
Electric heaters
Electric infrared heaters warm people and surfaces directly and produce no fumes. For a garden bar they are often the most practical choice where a proper supply exists.
- Choose a heater rated for its location. Outdoor or damp positions need a suitable IP rating.
- Fixed heaters belong on a circuit designed for the load, installed by a competent electrician.
- Keep clearances from ceilings, fabrics and timber exactly as the instructions specify.
Our power guide covers why a permanent supply beats an extension lead.
Gas patio heaters
Bottled-gas patio heaters are designed for open-air use. They produce combustion gases, including the risk of carbon monoxide if burning poorly or used in an enclosed space. The HSE and UKHSA both publish guidance on carbon monoxide, and the message is consistent: fuel-burning appliances need adequate ventilation and correct use.
- Use them only where the instructions allow, which typically means outdoors.
- Never bring a patio heater inside a bar shed to warm the room.
- Store and change cylinders as the supplier directs.
- Any fixed gas installation needs a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Fire pits and chimineas
Open fires are sociable but sit badly beside timber buildings, fabric awnings and overhanging branches. Keep them well away from the bar, never leave them unattended and have a way to put them out. Smoke drifting into a neighbour's washing or open windows is also a fast route to a bad relationship.
Carbon monoxide alarms
If any fuel-burning appliance is used in or near an enclosed space, a carbon monoxide alarm is a sensible addition. It is not a licence to ignore ventilation; it is a backstop.
The cheaper, safer heat
Before buying a heater, sort the draughts. Insulate the roof and walls of a closed building, fit a door that seals and add a rug. Blankets on the bench seats and a hot drink option go a long way on an autumn evening.
Compare the options
Our patio heater comparison sets electric, gas and fire pits side by side, with the safety points for each.
Choose your heat source only after you know whether the bar is open, partly sheltered or fully enclosed, then follow that heater's instructions to the letter.
Sources
Primary guidance checked 10 November 2026.