In a heated mood

Hungary’s changeable continental weather is not always favourable. At the same time, terraces are an important source of restaurateurs’ revenues, therefore they try to make the terrace season longer by using terrace heaters. Besides PB-gas operated radiators, we also come across infrared heaters quite often. According to Miklós Frei of Infratech Hungária Kft (producers of Extherm), the most frequented places already own some kind of terrace heating device. The company suggests and installs heating devices of their own design and they even rent them out. An increasing number of devices are sold, because infra-halogen heaters have a 90 percent efficiency ratio. The managing director thinks that the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants will increase their sales. Roland Prokop of Infravarázs Bt. (distributors of Solart devices) tells us that quartz infrared halogen heaters have been developed especially for terraces and halls. A 2-kW model is capable of increasing the temperature by 10-12 °C on an 8-m² surface, at a cost of HUF 100 per hour. The 1.3-kg device can be mounted on walls or poles and their lifespan is 5,000 service hours.