Modern day residential patio heaters often look exactly like the classic commercial ones you’ve likely seen at outdoor restaurants. Best Patio HeatersBest Overall:Best Value:Best Portable Gas:Best Mounted:Best Tabletop:How We TestedAs part of our testing, we tried out the Amazon Basics, Solo Stove, and Hampton Bay patio heaters. Pellet Pellet patio heaters aren’t commonly used, but they may be ideal depending on your exact needs. For most average patio heaters, you can expect around 30,000 to 50,000 BTUs generated per hour. Typically, gas patio heaters don’t last as long but generate far more heat while electric patio heaters have a longer lifespan but lack to same power.