• Outdoor heaters allow you to use your patio in colder weather.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Whether used for outdoor dining, informal cocktail parties or just as a place to sit and relax, patios can add aesthetic and functional value to a home. There's no need to stop using your outdoor living space when the weather turns cold. Patio heating products can transform your patio from a summer-only zone to year-round usable space. Choose products based on the amount of space you need to heat and energy preferences.
  
  

Kindle Living

• Kindle Living produces two outdoor heaters, the Kindle Heater and the Kindle Glow. Made from recyclable materials, both products resemble 20-inch-tall lamps and produce radiant heat. The heaters come in several color choices. Kindle heaters run on natural gas or propane. The Kindle Glow's battery-powered base provides lamp-like lighting with color shifting technology. Kindle heaters are rated to 40,000 BTUs.
  
  

Brookstone

• Brookstone offers several electric patio heater options. The 81-inch Outdoor Floorstand Electric Heater stands alone or slips into a patio table's umbrella hole. If you want a smaller heater, the Outdoor Tabletop Electric Heater stands 33 inches high. The heaters are designed to resemble lamps; the "lampshades" are actually reflective hoods. The heaters feature 1,200-watt heating elements that can be plugged into any wall outlet. Both heaters produce 4,095 BTUs, or enough to heat a 10-foot radius.
  
  

Frontgate

• Frontgate offers three infrared patio heaters. The portable infrared heater plugs into a standard electrical outlet and can be freestanding or mounted onto a wall. This heater features five heat settings, a remote control, a programmable timer and heats up in less than 30 seconds. The mountable Aura infrared heater heats a radius of 10 feet and plugs into any outlet. The Aura is weatherproof. The telescoping infrared heater reaches full heat within seconds and uses a 1,500-watt, 5,000-hour halogen lamp. This model heats up to a nine-foot radius and comes with a 45-pound wheel base.
  
  

Hammacher Schlemmer

• Hammacher Schlemmer offers the Even Warmth Patio Umbrella Heater. This three-pronged heater attaches to the underside of a patio umbrella to create an 8-foot diameter of heat. Quartz halogen heating elements warm people and surfaces as well as air. If it gets too hot, fold down one or more arms to regulate heat output. The heater plugs into any standard electrical outlet and fits onto umbrella canopies at least 42-inches in diameter.
  
  

Blue Rooster

• If you want to heat your patio the old-fashioned way---with fire---the Blue Rooster Company manufactures a line of gas and wood outdoor fire tables, fire pits and chimeneas. Options include the Gatsby chimenea, a solid-cast alumimun chimenea with a 15-inch log capacity, cast-iron grate and grilling insert. The Azteca wood-burning fire pit features a heavy base with carrying handles. The Aberly fire table features a stainless steel fire bowl, a slate tabletop and lava rocks. The Aberly runs on natural gas or propane and features adjustable flames with output up to 32,000 BTUs.