? How do you heat conservatories?

Posted by Gatodeluna@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 33 comments

I’ve asked this before on another platform and didn’t really get a satisfactory answer re people with largely glass conservatories attached to their homes. - Is it just assumed that if you have a home with a conservatory you also have plenty of money to heat it? Like no one gives it a thought, as in ‘of course.’ - Do people tend not to use these rooms as much in the coldest months? - Are they heavily insulated? - They’re often pretty large rooms, and as such would tend to be cold just by their size alone. - Does it chill the adjoining rooms?

I don’t live in a very cold place, but I need heat in certain rooms regardless. An average room heater wouldn’t be powerful enough for these large rooms. I’m just curious. What are the realities?

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RainbowPenguin1000@reddit

We used to shut ours off and just let it be cold and use it less. The last couple of years though we keep the doors open and let the air mix with the rest of the house. It probably makes the rest of the house a little bit cooler but it also warms the conservatory slightly so we can still use it.

As for direct heating in the room, we have a radiator in there but it’s not overly big and just runs under some of the windows.

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Ysbrydion@reddit

They're a dreadful 90s fad that modern homeowners usually solve by replacing the roof and altering the interior with better windows, insulation and replastering - this sort of thing: https://www.insullite.co.uk/iconic-garden-room/

I think - I'm not 100% - that they don't need planning permission, unlike an extension, so they were touted as an easy way to get a new room without the application delays and risking rejection. So people nowadays are likely to convert them.

If you don't, you find it's too hot in summer, too cold in winter and too stuffy and bright the rest of the time.

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ClaphamOmnibusDriver@reddit

They need to same planning permission as an extension more or less, but can often be built under permitted development.

However, they did not require full building regs unlike an extension, assuming you maintained the external door and other requirements.

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mebutnew@reddit

Also, and hear me out, some people like conservatories.

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Ysbrydion@reddit

Some people like "live laugh love" signs, it doesn't make it right.

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tmstms@reddit

they don't need planning permission - correct, AFAIK, so long as you obey various specific regulations.

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SassyKnickers@reddit

I actually have a massive radiator in mine (was there when I brought the house) hooked up to the central heating. Doesn’t cost much more to heat at the moment!

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Gatodeluna@reddit (OP)

That would definitely help.

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N30NIX@reddit

Ours is south facing, brick wall, insulated floor and triple glazing. On really cold days, I just keep the door closed but we have a small heater in there and it gets nice and warm in no time. I do most of my hobbies in there and I hate being cold, so it can’t be all that bad for me to be happy in there. I think the old ones with plastic roofs and no insulation are probably more cold storage in winter. One Bonus feature: our Christmas tree always lasts the entire season

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Able_Jelly_8727@reddit

I've got a new conservatory with a tiled roof which holds the heat in much better than the old one did. Ours isn't overly big and we just use a portable heater to heat it. We use it as our dining room so put the heater on just before meals to take the chill off.

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Prestigious_Leg7821@reddit

Mine has underfloor heating

I’ve just had it rebuilt as was falling apart and they took the plaster ceiling out - it’s now notably colder

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Katietori@reddit

You don't. That's why for many people they become a bit of a white elephant. (IMHO the only reason they were popular is because they were cheaper and easier in terms of planning permission than a proper extension).

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Separate-Passion-949@reddit

Everyone I know with a conservatory says they are too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

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Chicken_shish@reddit

There are conservatories and conservatories.

Shit ones with zero insulation design and a load of cheapo (blown) double glazed windows are freezing in winter, and will melt lead in summer. They're generally pretty useless.

Decent ones are completely different - we have a decent one. It's a timber framed glass box. The glass was ridiculously expensive, but it gets to 20C in winter easily if there is a sniff of sun, even if the outside temperature is well below zero. The floor is a dark coloured thermal store that radiates heat well into the evening on winters days.

There are electric Velux windows on a thermostat which deal with the heat in the summer.

If we want to use it and the weather has not been helpful, then switching a fan heater on for 30 minutes makes it perfectly habitable.

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mebutnew@reddit

Central heating like the rest of the house

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f8rter@reddit

You can’t heat conservatories in winter

You can’t keep them cool in summer

In April and October they are comfortable

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Enough-Ad3818@reddit

We replaced our clear roof with an I slated roof, and we have a small electric heater in there. The roof helps with both extremes of heat at different times of the year, and the heater lifts the temperature in just a few minutes. We use it as our living room all year round.

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tmstms@reddit

We have one; the assumption is actually twofold but not about heating as such:

1) Possibility 1: you need extra room but do not have money or space for an extension. In that case whether you heat depends on how you need to use that as living space.

2) Possibility 2: you have enough space in the house and can use the conservatory as an extra because it is nice to sit in at the right time- in that case you just don't use it when it is too hot or too cold (or if you have megabucks, you put a different kind of roof on).

In our case, the people before us plumbed the central heating in with an extra big radiator (and a cut-out valve is required) and put in a Stone Age-era aircon unit.

We would not have thought of putting a conservatory on, but given we have one, we find (as others have told us about theirs), the cats love it so it is basically one big cat playroom now.

Aspect matters- ours faces East, so it does catch the mrorning sun and trap a lot of heat; that makes it (and the house) warmer than otherwise in winter.

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NoVermicelli3192@reddit

We had pipe work and radiators put in.
Underfloor heating is an option if you can re floor it.
Otherwise a large oil filled radiator you can heat up and seal the room, then switch it off.

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bellathebeaut@reddit

If you plan on using it all year round your gonna need a proper roof putting on it for a start.

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Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

You don’t. They are cold in winter and you don’t use them.

OR you spend a lot of money on heating.

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Gatodeluna@reddit (OP)

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I think I’ve got a better handle on it now😊.

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Breaking-Dad-@reddit

Our kids use it as a playroom so we do have a heater on for a bit if they are using it. It does warm up in the day still if the sun is out though so we don’t heat it for long. We have a tower heater, it’s not too bad, it might be on for an hour. Then they tend to watch tv with us in front of the fire!

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takesthebiscuit@reddit

I have a 3kw heater in mine which I fire up if we are using the conservatory

Maybe for a relaxing beer on a Friday, or for a 20 minute lunch break

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AutumnSunshiiine@reddit

Don’t use it in winter. Doesn’t affect the adjacent room because there is a door, which is kept closed in winter.

Some people have a conservatory built and then decide they want an open plan kitchen with it and remove the wall and door. Those will cost a small fortune to heat.

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Melodic_Arm_387@reddit

I don’t. Just keep the door closed and use it as a drinks chiller at Christmas when the fridge is full

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F1sh_Face@reddit

It depends on the house, and how you want to use the conservatory.

Our last house had a North facing conservatory which we used as part of our kitchen/dining room (there were no doors between the conservatory space and the rest of the house). It had a modern plastic roof which was reasonably well insulated, and it didn't cost too much to keep heated. Btw, people often forget that the conservatory can bring warmth into the house at certain times, as well as losing heat at others. The house was fairly small and the extra space it gave us was much appreciated. It was heated by two radiators, part of the central heating system.

We now live in a larger house with a south facing conservatory. It's a bit older, probably about 30 years old, and not so well insulated. It is cold in winter and hot in summer. There are double glazed sliding doors between the house and the conservatory. We only heat it for a handful of days every year (Christmas, guests etc) but of course it is warm/hot from spring to autumn. I still love it, you can sit in it most days of the year and in winter it acts as a boot room, somewhere to get out of wet clothes and let them dry. It has a large electric radiator built in which is obviously expensive to run, hence we only do it on special occasions during winter months.

There seems to be a lot of hate for them but I like sitting in the bright light, half indoors and half out, and you can always find a use for extra space.

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