Reflector Umbrella

Patio Heater Demand On the Rise

In case you haven't noticed, propane post-style patio heaters (often called umbrella heaters or mushroom heaters), are popping up in big box retail stores all over North America.  In addition you'll find hundreds of online stores offering a huge selection of patio heaters.

What's the outlook for patio heater sales in the future?

Consider the following:

PATIO HEATING PRODUCT DEMAND (million dollars)

Year 1996    - 122

Year 2001    - 174

Year 2006    - 275

Year 2011    - 350

Year 2016    - 440

Source: The Freedonia Group (Study #2221 – US Outdoor Furniture and Grills, Sept. 2007)

It is clear – people are gravitating to the outdoors, spending more on outdoor "rooms". And patio heaters are an integral part of making good use of those spaces during cooler days and nights.

So what does the future hold and why is this information important?  Obviously, this is good news for retailers who sell patio heaters along with outdoor grills and furniture.  But what about consumers?  Is this good news for them?

Well, we think it's both good and bad.  It's good news in that consumers have a wider range of patio heaters and prices to choose from.  So what's the bad news?

If you've ever shopped for or considered buying a patio heater, you've probably wondered 1) what makes patio heaters different in quality?  And 2) why does one heater sells for $179.00 while the next one sells for up to 5 times that much?  It can be a bit confusing.

Rest assured, the big box stores (ie. Home Depot, Costco, Lowes, etc.) will not supply a higher priced patio heater.

Why?

Ever heard of volume discounting?  Big retailers buy and stock huge container loads of goods, mostly overseas imports.  It's the lower price of mass produced goods that lures consumers into their stores.   The problem with this retail strategy for the consumer is that, over time and with rare exceptions, product quality usually gets diminished.

As consumers demand lower prices from retailers, retailers demand lower prices from manufacturers, and manufacturers have no choice but to find ways to cut costs in order to make a profit.  The motive for everyone to make a profit usually means cutting corners in the manufacturing process, resulting in smaller, cheaper, lower grade, and lighter weight products.

Like thousands of other after market products, patio heaters have fallen victim to this vicious cycle over the past decade.

Consider:  A post style patio heater once weighing 80 to 100 lbs. now weighs as little as 40 lbs. (which begs the question, "what happens to a light weight heater on a windy day?").  Along the way, something had to be lost in terms of quality, don't you think?

Here's another example: Rather than making a more efficient large diameter one piece reflector, we now see much smaller 4 piece reflectors that the consumer must screw together.  This 4 piece assembly may save on packaging, weight and shipment costs, but the result is substantially diminished heater quality and poor performance.

Other considerations:

1) Does the heater have a two inch or a three inch diameter post?

2) Is it made of 430 stainless or higher grade 304 stainless?

3) Does it have a push button ignitor or a quality control knob?

4) Does if have wheels or no wheels?

5) Does it come with a 90 day, 1 year or 5 year warranty?

NOTE:  Only one brand that we know of (EvenGLO by IR Energy, Inc.) has headed in a completely opposite direction in terms of quality, technology and performance.  Their heaters are not cheap, but as the old saying goes, "you get what your pay for".  Their heater weighs 120lbs. and delivers 58% more heat energy than even the "next best competitor".  As a suggestion, you may find it helpful to use EvenGlo features as a basis for comparing against cheaper brands.

If you're looking to buy a patio heater, asking all the right questions can make a huge difference.  If your expectations are low, you may be perfectly satisfied with any of the cheaper brands.  If you consider yourself to be a more discriminating buyer, and are willing to spend a bit more for something better - do a bit of homework.  It can pay off big in the long run.

About the Author

Scott Workman owns and operates Infra-Red Products Supply, Inc. of Draper, Utah. Want to learn more about gas patio heaters, propane patio heaters, vent free heaters, energy-saving heaters, garage heaters, infrared tube heaters, radiant heaters and more? sites at: => www.infraredinfo.com and http://www.heatersunlimited.com

 

Studio lighting - Best way to position 3 lights and a reflector screen when using a white backdrop?

I have a white acrylic backdrop, 3 lights, 3 umbrellas and a reflector screen. What is the best way to position all of these to get the best effects and less shadows, thank you xx
Oh and yes I do know basics, otherwise I wouldn't have it! I have had many succesful prints, was just wondering about variation and getting new fresh ideas, I'm ready to experiment!!!

NO. If you are asking this then you don't know the basics or you would not have to ask would you now.

There are numerous ways of lighting a scene with the equipment you have depending on the overall effect required, the background, the models etc etc

here are some tutorials

http://www.olympusdigitalschool.com/Photo_Lessons/Three_Light_Portrait__Too_Much_Power__Never_/index.html

http://www.professionalphotography101.com/portrait_photography/Portrait-photography.html

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-master-classic-three-light-studio-portrait-243244/

http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-two-and-three-light-setups.html

http://www.yourphototips.com/2008/04/03/lighting-techniques-the-3-light-set-up/

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Hand Reflector $24.99 Hand Reflector - Photographic Print

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The Umbrella $5.96 Carlos goes into the cloud forest to look for animals, but he manages to miss seeing them even though they have an adventure with his umbrella. On board pages.

Taking photos of your artwork

Getting good quality accurate reproductions of your artwork is an essential part of promoting your artwork online. Not only do you want to show your artwork in the best light but you also want to avoid giving the wrong impression of how your artwork will look once it's delivered.

Choosing your equipment

The quickest route to getting your artwork onto your computer is to use a Digital Camera. You don't need a high end camera to take good quality photos of your artwork however you should ensure it has a reasonably good quality lens. You may also need to use filters if you're taking photos of artwork behind glass (more on this later). It's worth investing in a tripod which will make it easier to line up the camera with the artwork and of course to hold the camera steady.

Getting the right lighting

Natural light is the best source of illumination for this kind of photography. On sunny days try to position the artwork in a place which gives a little shade. Overcast weather also provides ideal lighting conditions as the light is diffused more evenly over the image and the effect of shadows is reduced.

Generally you should avoid using a flash especially when shooting the image behind glass. If you must, use an indirect flash to minimise reflections on the artwork (where the light is reflected onto a reflector umbrella or some other white surface).

Setting up the shot

For best results try to avoid taking a picture of artwork behind glass. This will reduce reflections and is especially important if you need to use a flash.

You want to make sure that the final image is not askew as this causes problems when cropping the image on the computer. Using a tripod if possible, line up the camera with the centre of the painting and adjust the angle so that the sides are parallel with the edges of the viewfinder.

Stand at least five feet away from the painting as many cameras do not focus correctly less than three feet from the subject (you can still use zoom if you need a close up). Positioning the camera too close can also lead to distortion of the image and increase the risk of casting a shadow on the painting.

The next article will cover how to optimise images on the computer.

About the Author

Neil runs Galleries-online which is an online art community where artists can create online galleries, publish blogs and promote their events.

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