Outdoor Heating and Gas Heater Installation Costs VIC 2026 - Get Free Quotes

What Outdoor Heating Covers

Outdoor heating covers warming an outdoor or alfresco area, from supplying and setting up a portable heater through to installing and connecting a fixed gas or electric unit. At the simplest end it is a freestanding patio heater running off an LPG bottle, the kind you can buy and use yourself, which needs no installation beyond connecting the bottle. At the more involved end it is a fixed overhead radiant heater, gas-fired and plumbed to the mains by a gasfitter, or electric and hardwired by an electrician, mounted to a wall or the ceiling of an alfresco. In between sit gas fire pits and fire tables, and freestanding electric heaters. What ties the fixed installs together is that the gas and electrical work behind them is licensed, certified work, because heat, flame and the fuels that drive them carry real risks that the rules exist to manage. The portable units are simple, but the moment a heater is fixed and connected to a fuel supply, the rules step in for good reason.

The fixed installs are licensed work, which is the key thing to understand about this trade. A fixed natural gas heater is connected by a licensed gasfitter, the same trade covered under gas fitting, and a hardwired electric heater by a licensed electrician. The gas side overlaps with general appliance work under gas appliance installation, while the electric side draws on a licensed electrician. A portable LPG heater needs neither, since it is a plug-and-play appliance, but anything fixed and fuelled is a job for the right licensed tradesperson. Knowing which side of that line your heater falls on is the first thing to settle, since it shapes the whole job and its cost. This page is the Victorian guide to outdoor heating, what it costs in 2026, the heater types, and the licensing and safety that a good install depends on. It is written to help you pick the right heater for your space and recognise an installer who does the work safely.

Victoria's climate and its love of the alfresco make outdoor heating a popular addition. The state's cold, long winters mean an unheated outdoor area sits unused for months, so heating one extends the time a family can enjoy it, which is why alfresco heating has become a near-standard part of outdoor living here. Many newer Victorian homes are built with a dedicated alfresco or outdoor room, often under a roofline, that is ideal for a fixed heater, while older homes add heating to a pergola, deck or patio. The push toward all-electric homes across the state has made electric infrared heaters an increasingly common choice over gas for new installs. For a household putting in heating for the first time, the absence of any gas line is one less thing to arrange and pay for. Across Victoria, a well-heated outdoor space is one of the more enjoyable upgrades a home can make for the cold half of the year. It turns a part of the home that would otherwise sit idle through winter into a room the family keeps using.

The sections ahead set out what outdoor heating costs in Victoria for 2026, the gas, electric and LPG heater types, and the licensed gasfitter and electrician each fixed install needs. They cover the critical ventilation and carbon monoxide rules around gas heaters, how to size and place heat in an alfresco, and the fire pits, fire tables and fire-ban rules that govern open flame outdoors. The aim is that you understand the options, the safety, and the value, and can choose the right heater and a properly licensed installer. The figures are Victorian and current for 2026, and the theme throughout is that outdoor heating is about comfort built on safety, since heat and flame in and around the home are exactly the things the licensing and ventilation rules are there to keep under control. A good installer settles the safety questions before the comfort ones, in that order.

Gas, Electric or LPG: The Heater Types

Gas radiant heaters are the high-output choice for open and semi-open areas. A fixed gas radiant heater, plumbed to the mains gas and usually mounted overhead on a wall or the alfresco ceiling, throws a lot of warmth over a wide area and runs more cheaply than electric for the heat it gives, which makes it the popular choice for larger or more open spaces. It needs a licensed gasfitter to connect and certify, and it needs ventilation, so it suits open and semi-open areas rather than enclosed ones. For homes already on natural gas, a gas radiant heater is often the most cost-effective way to heat a big alfresco. The fuel is cheap, the output is high, and the connection is straightforward where the gas is already nearby. The trade-off is the install cost and the ventilation requirement, both of which the gas output earns back over a cold season. For a big, open entertaining area on natural gas, little else heats as much for as little.

Electric infrared heaters are the clean, flexible choice, and increasingly the default. An electric radiant or infrared heater warms people and surfaces directly with no flame, no fumes and no flue, which makes it safe to use in an enclosed or fully built-in alfresco where a gas heater could not go. It installs easily, a hardwired unit needing only an electrician, and it switches on instantly with directional, zoned heat. The trade-off is a higher running cost per unit of heat than gas and a more focused rather than broad spread of warmth. For warming a defined seating area rather than a whole open yard, that focus is often an advantage rather than a drawback. With the move toward all-electric homes, and for any enclosed outdoor room, the electric infrared heater has become the common and sensible choice. It asks less of the building, needs no fuel line, and goes almost anywhere power can reach.

LPG and portable heaters are the no-install option, with their own place. A freestanding patio heater running off an LPG bottle, the familiar mushroom-top design, needs no installation at all beyond fitting the bottle and regulator, which makes it the flexible, movable and rental-friendly choice. It suits people who want heat without a fixed install, or who move it around the yard, and a fixed LPG conversion or a plumbed bottle bank is gasfitter work. The trade-offs are the ongoing cost and hassle of refilling or exchanging bottles, and the same ventilation rule as any gas heater. For a quick, uncommitted way to warm an open patio, a portable LPG heater is hard to beat, which is why they remain so common. They also move with you, from the patio to the deck to a party in the yard, which a fixed unit cannot.

Gas Heaters and the Licensed Gasfitter

A fixed gas heater is licensed work, and that is not a detail to gloss over. Connecting a fixed natural gas heater, or running a new gas point out to an alfresco, must be done by a registered gasfitter, because it involves gas under pressure and a flame, and unlicensed gas work is both illegal and dangerous. Gasfitting is a class of plumbing work in Victoria, overseen on the registration and compliance side by the Building and Plumbing Commission, with the work carried out to the gas standard, AS/NZS 5601. A gasfitter sizes the gas supply, runs the line, connects the heater, and tests and certifies the result. Each of those steps has a standard behind it, which is what the certificate at the end attests to. On anything fixed and gas-fired, the gasfitter is not optional but the law. The flame and the pressurised fuel are precisely why the work is reserved to people trained and registered to handle them.

The gas connection itself is often the real work on an outdoor gas heater. Where there is no gas point near the alfresco, the gasfitter has to run a new line from the meter or an existing point out to the heater, sized to carry the gas the appliance needs, which is frequently the larger part of the job. An existing, suitable gas point makes the install far simpler and cheaper, so where the gas is already there a heater goes in quickly. It is always worth telling an installer where the nearest gas point is, since it can change the quote substantially. The work shades into the wider gas trade, including leak and repair work under gas leak repairs, and outdoor gas heaters sit alongside other gas heating such as a pool heater. The connection is where a gasfitter's planning shows, since a well-run line serves the heater reliably for years. A line that is undersized or poorly routed shows up later as a heater that struggles, which is the kind of problem worth avoiding at the start.

The compliance certificate is your proof the gas work was done properly, and you should expect one. For the prescribed gasfitting work, the registered gasfitter must complete a compliance certificate confirming the work meets the standard and was tested, which is your evidence that the gas connection is safe and compliant. This certificate matters for your insurance and at sale time, so it is not a formality to wave away on an outdoor heater any more than on an indoor one. A gasfitter who connects a heater without providing the certificate has not finished the job properly. Always expect the compliance certificate for fixed gas work, and keep it with your home's records as proof the connection was certified. It is a small document that answers a lot of questions for an insurer or a future buyer.

Electric Radiant Heaters and the Electrician

A hardwired electric heater is licensed electrical work, and it is the simpler of the two fixed installs. A fixed electric radiant or infrared heater that is wired into the home, rather than plugged in, must be installed by a licensed electrician and certified, work that draws on the wider electrical services trade. The electrician runs a suitable circuit to the heater, mounts and connects it, and issues a Certificate of Electrical Safety, the same certificate that backs any electrical work and which is overseen by Energy Safe Victoria. Compared with a gas install there is no gas line and no ventilation requirement, so the electric heater is often the quicker and tidier job. The electrician's certificate is your proof the heater is safely wired. On a hardwired heater exposed to the weather, correct, certified wiring is not a detail to leave to chance.

The big advantage of electric is that it is safe in an enclosed space, which gas is not. Because an electric infrared heater has no flame and produces no combustion gases, it can be used in a fully enclosed or built-in alfresco, a sunroom or an outdoor room with walls and a roof, where a gas heater would be dangerous. This single difference is why electric heaters have taken over the enclosed and semi-enclosed alfresco, which is exactly the kind of space Victorian homes increasingly build. As outdoor rooms get more enclosed and more like indoor ones, the case for electric only grows. For an outdoor room you intend to close in with blinds or walls, electric is not just the easier choice but effectively the only safe one. The freedom to enclose the space is a large part of what makes electric infrared so popular. A family can start with an open alfresco and close it in over time without ever having to rethink the heating.

Electric heaters also suit the way modern Victorian homes are heading. With the state encouraging all-electric homes, and many new builds skipping gas altogether, an electric outdoor heater fits a home with no gas connection and pairs naturally with the rest of an electric house. There is no fuel line to run and no flame to manage, just a circuit the electrician brings out to the heater. The instant, zoned, directional heat suits the way people actually use an alfresco, warming the seating area rather than the whole yard. You feel the warmth the moment it is switched on, with none of the warm-up a larger gas system can need. Where a home also runs electric heating inside, such as underfloor heating, the outdoor electric heater is part of a consistent setup. For a new or all-electric home, the electric outdoor heater is the natural fit, with no gas connection to arrange. It slots into the home's existing wiring rather than requiring a whole new fuel supply to be brought to the alfresco.

Ventilation and Carbon Monoxide

The single most important safety rule with any gas heater is that it must never be used in a fully enclosed space. A gas heater burns fuel and produces combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, which is colourless, odourless and deadly, so it needs the open air or proper ventilation to carry those gases away safely. Used in a sealed room, a sunroom closed up against the cold, or an alfresco fully enclosed with blinds and walls, a gas heater can let carbon monoxide build to dangerous levels without any warning. This is not a cautious guideline but a hard safety line, and it is the reason a gas heater cannot go where an electric one can. If your outdoor area is, or might become, fully enclosed, a gas heater is the wrong choice. The rule does not bend for a particularly cold night, which is exactly when people are tempted to close the space up.

Carbon monoxide is the hidden danger that makes the ventilation rule so serious. Because it cannot be seen or smelled, carbon monoxide gives no warning the way a gas leak's added odour does, and the early symptoms of poisoning, headache, nausea and drowsiness, are easy to mistake for something else until it becomes dangerous. This is why a gas heater needs genuine ventilation, not just a partly open space, and why enclosing an alfresco that contains a gas heater is so hazardous. A gasfitter installing an outdoor gas heater assesses the space and the ventilation as part of doing the job safely. Treating the enclosed-space rule as absolute, rather than something to bend on a cold night, is what keeps a gas heater safe to be around. The danger of carbon monoxide is that it gives you no chance to notice the mistake before it becomes serious.

The practical upshot is that the space decides the heater, not the other way around. An open patio, a pergola or a semi-open alfresco with genuine airflow can take a gas heater safely, while a fully enclosed or closeable outdoor room calls for electric. Where people intend to enclose a space later, with cafe blinds or walls, that future state has to be planned for now, since a gas heater that was safe open becomes dangerous once closed in. A good installer asks how the space is used and whether it will be enclosed before recommending gas or electric. That single question, asked early, prevents the most common and most dangerous mistake in outdoor heating. Matching the heater to the ventilation of the space is the core safety decision in outdoor heating, and it comes before any question of cost or output. Everything else about a heater is secondary to whether it is safe in the space it will live in.

Heating the Alfresco: Sizing and Placement

Sizing the heat to the space is what makes an outdoor heater actually work. An undersized heater in a large, open area gives a token warmth that disappoints, while the right output for the space and its exposure makes the difference between a heater people sit under and one they ignore. Open areas lose heat fast and need more output or more units, whereas a sheltered, semi-enclosed alfresco holds warmth and needs less. The exposure to wind, the ceiling height, and how open the sides are all feed into how much heat the space needs. A tall, breezy, open patio is a very different heating problem from a low, sheltered nook, even at the same floor area. A good installer sizes the heating to the actual area and its exposure rather than fitting a single unit and hoping, which is what separates a warm alfresco from a cold one. The difference between a heater that gets used and one that gets switched off in disappointment is almost always the sizing.

Placement and the number of units matter as much as raw output. Radiant heaters warm what they point at, so placing them to throw heat over the seating and dining area, rather than the empty edges, is what makes the warmth useful, and a larger space often needs several units zoned across it rather than one big heater. Overhead mounting keeps heaters out of the way and directs warmth down onto people, which suits most alfrescos. It also keeps the units clear of furniture and foot traffic, which matters in a space people move around in. The structure the heater mounts to, whether a solid alfresco ceiling, a pergola or a patio, has to suit the unit and its clearances. A flimsy or combustible mounting point is not suitable for a heater that runs hot, which is part of what an installer checks. Thoughtful placement turns the same heating budget into noticeably more comfort. Pointing the heat where people actually sit is worth more than simply buying a bigger unit.

Enclosing the space changes the heating equation entirely, and it is worth planning together. Adding cafe blinds or screens, the kind under outdoor blinds and patio screens, dramatically improves how well an alfresco holds heat, so a heater works far harder in a space that can be closed against the wind. The catch is the gas rule, since enclosing a space with a gas heater is dangerous, so an enclosable alfresco points firmly toward electric heating. Planning the heating and the enclosure together, deciding early whether the space will be closeable and therefore electric, avoids fitting the wrong heater. An alfresco designed with both its heating and its screening in mind is the one that gets used right through winter. Planning them apart often means buying the heating twice when the screens change what the space needs.

Fire Pits, Fire Tables and Fire Bans

Fire pits and fire tables are the social, flame-in-view option, and they come in gas and wood forms. A gas fire pit or fire table runs off LPG or natural gas and gives a controllable flame with none of the smoke, ash or wood-gathering of an open fire, which makes it the convenient choice, while a wood fire pit gives the traditional crackle and smell. Both are about ambience and gathered warmth rather than heating a whole space the way a radiant heater does. People often pair a fire pit for atmosphere with radiant heaters for actual warmth, since the two do different jobs. A fixed natural gas fire feature is gasfitter work to connect and certify, while a self-contained LPG or wood one is not. As with any gas appliance, the fixed, plumbed version brings the licensing that the portable one avoids. The appeal of a fire pit is as much the focal point and the atmosphere as the heat it gives. People gather around a fire in a way they never do around a radiant heater, which is a large part of why fire pits appeal.

Open flame outdoors brings fire safety into play, which in Victoria is a genuine consideration. Any open flame, a wood fire pit especially but a gas one too, has to be used with care for fire risk, kept clear of combustibles, never left unattended, and used with awareness of conditions. A wood or solid-fuel fire pit in particular needs a safe, non-combustible base and clearance from anything that can catch. The risk is real enough that fire features are a different proposition from an enclosed radiant heater. An open flame in the yard simply demands a level of attention that a wired infrared heater does not. Treating any outdoor flame with the respect fire deserves, especially in the dry months, is simply part of having one. A fire pit is a pleasure that comes with a genuine responsibility attached to it.

Fire bans are the rule that catches people out, and they carry real weight in Victoria. On days of Total Fire Ban, declared by the CFA, the use of many fires and open flames outdoors is prohibited, and that can include wood fire pits and some open-flame appliances depending on the rules in force. A fire ban is a legal restriction, not a suggestion, and the penalties for breaching one are serious, quite apart from the fire risk it exists to prevent. Anyone with a wood fire pit, and to a degree a gas fire feature, needs to know the fire-ban rules and the conditions in their area. Checking the fire restrictions before lighting any outdoor fire, particularly through a Victorian summer, is part of using one responsibly. The rules change day to day with the conditions, so it is a habit worth keeping rather than a one-off.

What Drives Outdoor Heating Pricing in Victoria

The heater type and the install are the first and biggest drivers, spanning a wide range. A portable LPG heater you buy and use yourself is the cheapest option, a hardwired electric radiant heater a modest install through an electrician, and a fixed overhead gas radiant heater with a new gas point the most involved, so what you choose sets the band. Supply-only is far cheaper than supply-and-install, and whether you provide the heater or the installer does feeds in. Buying the unit yourself can save a margin, though an installer-supplied heater usually carries a tidier warranty path if something goes wrong. The number of units pushes a multi-heater alfresco system well up. Two outdoor heating jobs can sit far apart simply on the heater type and whether anything needs connecting. A portable bottle heater and a plumbed overhead radiant system are very different buys.

The gas or electrical work behind the heater shapes much of the rest. A gas heater carries the cost of a licensed gasfitter and, crucially, whether a gas point already exists or a new line must be run, which is often the larger expense. An electric heater carries the cost of an electrician to hardwire it, usually less than a gas connection where no point exists. Each fixed install includes the licensed tradesperson's certificate as part of the proper cost. The honest quote sets out the heater, the connection or wiring, and the certificate so you can see what is driving the figure rather than a single lump sum. Whether the services are already there is the quiet swing factor on a fixed install. A heater on an existing gas point or power outlet goes in for a fraction of the cost of one that needs the supply run to it.

Where the home sits rounds out the picture across Victoria. Pricing stays competitive through metropolitan Melbourne, while alfresco jobs out in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland, Shepparton, Mildura, the Mornington Peninsula and the wider regions carry travel for the installer. A larger alfresco needing several units, or a difficult mounting and a long gas or electrical run, costs more than a single heater on an existing point. The hardest part of many jobs is not the heater itself but getting the fuel or power to where it needs to be. The cheapest quote that has an unlicensed person do the gas or electrical work is no saving at all, since unlicensed gas or electrical work is illegal, dangerous and voids insurance. On the fixed installs, who does the licensed work and whether it is certified matter more than shaving a little off the price. The connection is sealed and the wiring weather-exposed, so this is not the place to economise on the tradesperson.

Value in outdoor heating is measured in the months of extra use it gives a space. A well-chosen, properly installed heater turns an unused cold-weather alfresco into a room the family enjoys for much of the year, which is real value for a modest outlay, particularly given what the outdoor space itself cost to build. Any money saved on an unlicensed gas or electrical job is small next to the safety risk it creates. Matched to the space, sized right and safely installed, an outdoor heater gives back many comfortable winters for a one-off outlay. The best outcome is a warm, safe outdoor room you actually use, which a good heater and a licensed install deliver together. For the colder half of the Victorian year, that is one of the better returns a home improvement can give.

What to Look Out For

The first check on any fixed heater is that the gas or electrical work is licensed and certified. A proper gas heater install uses a registered gasfitter who provides a compliance certificate, and a hardwired electric heater a licensed electrician who provides a Certificate of Electrical Safety, while anyone offering to do the gas or electrical work without a licence should be turned away. Be especially wary of a cheap offer to connect a gas heater informally, since unlicensed gas work is both illegal and genuinely dangerous. An installer who never mentions the licence or the certificate, or is vague about who does the connection, has failed a basic test. On gas and electrical work, those things are the floor, not a feature to be impressed by. On a fixed, fuelled heater, the licence and the certificate are not optional extras.

The most important safety question is whether the installer respects the enclosed-space rule. A good installer asks how the space is used and whether it is or will be enclosed, and steers you firmly to electric for any enclosed or closeable area, rather than fitting a gas heater wherever it is asked for. Anyone willing to put a gas heater into a fully enclosed space, or who waves away the ventilation question, is a real danger to avoid. The carbon monoxide risk is serious enough that this single judgement separates a safe installer from a reckless one. An installer who leads with the ventilation and the space, not just the heater, is the one who understands the work. The question of where a gas heater can safely go matters more than which model is on special.

On the quote and the choice, the right advice marks out a good installer. A useful outdoor heating quote sets out the heater type and whether it is supplied, the gas or electrical work and whether a new connection is needed, the mounting, and the certificate, so you can see the whole job. The classic gaps are a quote light on the connection cost, the heater quietly left for you to supply, or the sizing not matched to the space. The consumer protections administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria sit behind the work. An installer who sizes the heating to the space, recommends gas or electric honestly for how it is used, and certifies the licensed work is usually one worth hiring. Those three habits, more than any sales pitch, mark out someone who does the job properly.

How to Get Useful Quotes

A clear picture of the space gets you a sharper, more comparable quote. Describe the area you want to heat, its rough size, whether it is open, semi-open or enclosed, and whether you plan to enclose it later, since that decides gas versus electric and shapes the whole job. Say whether you are already on natural gas, whether there is a gas point or power near the area, and whether you have a heater in mind or want a recommendation. A few photos of the alfresco, the mounting points and any existing gas or power help an installer scope it. The suburb matters for travel. The clearer the picture of the space and its services, the closer the quote and the better the advice on the right heater. It also lets the installer flag early whether the space rules out gas, before any time is wasted quoting it.

For a fixed install, a site look is what makes a quote real. An installer who sees the space can judge its size and exposure, where the gas or power is, how the heater would mount, and whether the area is suitable for gas or needs electric, where a number off a description tends to move once the real space is seen. Use the visit to ask the questions this guide has raised, whether gas or electric suits the space, whether a new connection is needed, how many units the area wants, and that the licensed work will be certified. Ask each installer to confirm the gas or electrical work is licensed and certified, so the quotes describe the same safe job. Comparing certified quotes on a like-for-like heater and connection is the only fair basis. A cheaper quote that uses an unlicensed connection or leaves you to supply the heater is not really cheaper.

Posting the job once on The Quote Yard reaches several licensed Victorian gasfitters and electricians at the same time. Weigh the replies on the same points, the heater and whether it is supplied, the gas or electrical work and any new connection, the sizing for the space, the certificate, and GST, so you are comparing like with like. A quote that comes in well under the others is worth questioning, since it may use an unlicensed person for the connection or skip the certificate, which on gas or electrical work is exactly the corner that must not be cut. The quote worth taking comes from a licensed installer, sizes the heating to the space, includes the certified connection, and is honest about gas versus electric. Gathering a few costs nothing before you decide. On a heater you will run for years, a little time spent comparing the options up front is well spent.

Certification, Warranty and Australian Consumer Law

The compliance certificate, gas or electrical, is the document that matters most on a fixed heater, so ensure you receive it. A fixed gas heater comes with a gasfitting compliance certificate and a hardwired electric heater with a Certificate of Electrical Safety, each certifying the connection meets the standard and is safe, which is your evidence the work is compliant and which matters for your insurance and at sale time. A heater connected without the certificate, or by someone unlicensed, leaves you exposed on both the safety of the install and any future insurance claim. The certificate is the proof the heater was connected properly, and it is worth keeping with the heater's documentation and warranty. On fuelled or wired work, that document is your protection. Without it, you have only the installer's word that something connected to gas or power was done safely.

The installer's registration and insurance are what give a fixed heater install its backing, in a way an informal job never has. A licensed gasfitter or electrician carries the registration that makes the work lawful and the insurance that backs it, which is part of what separates a professional from an unlicensed operator working dangerously. Using a licensed installer also protects your home insurance, since a fire or carbon monoxide incident connected to unlicensed gas or electrical work can see a claim refused. The licence, the insurance and the certificate together are what make a legitimate heater install worth its price. Skimping on any of them, on something that burns fuel or carries power, leaves you worse off. The saving is small and the risk, in the worst case, is a fire or a carbon monoxide incident.

Underneath it all sit the consumer guarantees, which apply to an outdoor heater as to any work and goods. The work must be carried out with due care and skill and the heater be of acceptable quality, protections administered through Consumer Affairs Victoria and backed by the national framework overseen by the ACCC, while gas and electrical safety are regulated by Energy Safe Victoria. Where the heating is part of a wider outdoor project, it ties into an outdoor kitchen or the outdoor lighting that finishes an alfresco, so the whole space can be planned together. Choose a licensed installer who matches the heater to the space, respects the ventilation rules, and certifies the gas or electrical work, and the outdoor heating gives you a warm, safe space to enjoy through the colder months.