REVIEW – Staying comfortable outdoors has certainly evolved in the last dozen years. Gone are the days of having to start a fire to stay warm. (Fires are still wonderfully inviting and fun, just not efficient.) Ceramic heaters and radiant heaters have been used for a long time, but they are usually large and do not circulate the air, they just warm it. The ThermoMate Electric Outdoor/Indoor Patio Heater – 1500W 8 Heating Levels & Timer adds oscillating direction and a remote control so that you can change settings from across the deck.
What is it?
The ThermoMate heater is an oscillating tower radiant heater that can warm a wide area.
What’s in the box?
- Main heater tower
- Remote
- Flame Guard (& four screws for attaching)
Hardware specs
Click to expand
- 3s Fast Heating – 1500W Infrared Radiant Heating, Gold coated halogen heating element, More heat, Less Glare
- 8 Heating Levels – Adjustable heating output, far-reaching 60° Oscillation covering up to 200 sq.ft., 99% High efficiency
- 8 Hours Timer – Remote Control, Super Quiet with No Noise
- Multiple Protection – Tip-Over auto power off, Overheat protection, IP65 dustproof and waterproof, ETL Listed
- Easy to us – Plugin to 120V outlets and press the button to start heating
Design and features
The ThermoMate heater ships almost fully assembled. All that needs to be attached is the wire flame guard. This is a simple semi-circular wire piece that is attached with four sheet metal screws to the main heater housing. (The screws are in a tiny envelope inside the main body of the box, so be careful not to toss them out with the packaging!)
Setup
There is an app as well as a remote control, but the remote needs AAA batteries, which I didn’t have on hand during the initial setup. Why can’t all remotes just have a rechargeable battery installed?
Performance
I have an outdoor sitting area that is kind of a walkway onto my larger deck. I sit out here during rainstorms and enjoy the shelter of the roof while the rain beats down on two sides. In the early spring, it’s a great place to have morning coffee while my brain reacts to morning. On fall evenings, it’s a fantastic place to enjoy the fading light and the approaching chill of the night. That’s where I wanted to test the ThermoMate heater. Extend the evening into the night with even, radiant heat. I plugged it into the covered power outlet that is just behind my chair and table, and pressed the top button. The red bars showed the level of heat that would be generated. I chose two bars, and sat back to enjoy. Within a minute, I could notice a huge difference in the ambient air temperature. Within five minutes, I was wondering if I should turn it down to one bar of heat. Instead, I pressed the top knob and allowed the unit to start gently and silently rotating through a selectable arc of area. Both the heating and the oscillation were totally silent.
When I was ready to come back inside, I simply turned off the heater, and picked it up by the flame guard. I set it inside my house on my hearth, which is just inside the door to the deck.
There are care instructions in the manual. Obviously a testing period is not long enough to have residue form, so I have no idea is this will be a problem or not. But I thought I’d include them here.
What I like about the ThermoMate Electric Outdoor/Indoor Patio Heater
- Absolutely silent
- Easy setup and control
What I’d change
- Batteries for the remote should be included. Actually, it should be rechargeable
Final thoughts
We humans love to transform our spaces into our version of “what makes me happier.” From painting the walls of caves and building a fire to gather around, we now have dwellings and even mobile dwellings where we can carry our comfort with us. I’m a big fan of sitting outside and having a little bit more comfort – a fan, a fire, a candle, a sunshade, an insect management system, a folding chair or a grill all make us happier. This heater is much easier to deploy and benefit from than most other forms of heat. There’s no lighting, clean-up, or waste disposal – just plug it in, get warm, and turn it off when you’re done. I’m looking forward to more cool nights in my sitting space with the ThermoMate Electric Outdoor/Indoor Patio Heater!
Price: $199.99 (Regular price $239.99)
Where to buy: Company Website and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Thermomate. Thermomate did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
