How to make your conservatory warmer in winter?

Conservatories are great, not only do they add valuable space and natural light to a property they’re cheaper than a traditional full-blown extension. However, they are not without their drawbacks, most notably that their use tends to be very seasonal especially among older conservatories, which are often cited as being inhospitable in the winter due to the cold. Like everything the art of conservatory building and the materials used has evolved rapidly, these advancements in technology mean the conservatories we build today are far less likely to suffer to the same degree as conservatories built, 20, 15, 10 or even 5 years ago.

Warm Roof

Its well known that heat rises, so it stands to reason that a lot of the heat that escapes from your conservatory escapes through the roof.  Sometimes referred to as a solid roof our warm roof system replaces your traditional glass or polycarbonate roof with a solid well insulated tiled style roof. Not only does our warm roof system lock in the heat it looks great too. However, this solution may not be suitable for every homeowner’s tastes or their budget.

Draughts

When it comes to draughts things are pretty black and white, sorry that was an awful joke on our part, but its simple really draughts or drafts are caused by a change in pressure the cold air outside causes the warm air inside the house to be sucked out through any tiny gaps where the seals around your windows may have broken down or shrunk. We can easily help to minimise draughts by replacing these seals with better fitting or more robust alternatives. Keeping the warm air in, check. (Sorry again, we couldn’t help it)

Glazing

Let’s be honest, glass isn’t as good at keeping the heat in or the cold out as an insulated wall, which is a lot of the reason your conservatory can be too cold in the winter. But without all that glass and natural light your conservatory wouldn’t be, well a conservatory. However, all is not lost, glass technology has come along leaps and bounds over the last few years, with recent developments designed to lock in heat better than ever before, we even have self-cleaning glass available for those difficult to reach conservatory roofs. Our expert design consultants would be more than happy to discus with you in more detail the different types of glass options available.

Flooring

One way to improve how well your conservatory retains the heat is to look at the flooring, if you have a stone or tile floor your conservatory is likely to be considerably colder, although not ideal for every style of conservatory or home, carpet with a good underlay may offer a  warmer alternative, or a more temporary solution may be a good rug. Another solution and one we’re seeing more and more of on our new build conservatories is the use of underfloor heating, the difference underfloor heating can make to the ambient temperature heating of a conservatory in mid-winter is remarkable.

Electric Heating

A great alternative to underfloor heating that is far less disruptive to retro fit is electric or oil radiators designed specifically for conservatories. A lot of conservatories don’t have heating because tapping into the homes central heating can be dangerous and requires panning permission.  A separate number of stand alone electric or oil radiators gives more than enough heat but without the cost and headaches associated with a planning application.

 The solutions listed above are of course only a few different techniques you can employ to help keep your conservatory warm. If you have your own techniques we’d love to hear about them send us an email and let us know, you never know it may end up on our blog. Of course, these techniques don’t have to be used completely on their own you may want to employ several solutions together to really make your conservatory warm and cosy all winter. If you’re interested in one, two or all of the above solutions get in touch and we can help you keep your conservatory warm all winter