The restaurant industry is particularly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many restaurant owners fear another decrease in their revenues in autumn and winter should they find themselves forced to close off their outdoor areas due to the cold, or also if they would only be able to open them for certain amounts of time. Gas heaters, often called mushroom heaters, space heaters or patio heaters, can help achieve a warmer, more pleasant temperature.
Since this form of heating also releases carbon dioxide, some cities and municipalities have banned the use of patio heaters and the like. At the moment (September 2020), policy makers and various interest groups are discussing the possibility of reintroducing these heaters throughout Germany in order to allow restaurants to keep their outdoor areas open even as temperatures start to drop. And let us not forget that many cities and municipalities in Germany still allow the use of these heaters in businesses, and that the private use of these heaters is of course allowed regardless of what happens in businesses.
Nevertheless both business owners and private individuals do need to keep several things in mind if they want to operate gas heaters safely. We collected all the most important information on patio heaters and similar devices in these articles in our blog: