For many houses across the UK, conservatories are very welcome additions. They are perfect for entertaining on summer evenings and ideal for appreciating your garden on hot summer days while sipping on a cold drink.
However, as the leaves begin to turn to shades of brown and orange and temperatures start to drop, there is a good chance that conservatories go unloved and unused.
As autumn and winter arrive, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on watching the changing seasons from your garden or lose the extra space in your house.
With a couple of tweaks and changes, you will learn how you can enjoy your all-year-round conservatory. We will provide you with our energy-efficient ideas and warmth-boosting that will keep you comfortable and in the long run save you money.
Do you currently own an all-year-round conservatory?
The first thing that you need to consider about your conservatory is whether or not you use it all year long. In the summer are the temperatures too hot, or during the darker, wetter, cooler months do you take a break from using your conservatory?
If you take breaks, why do you?
- Is it too cold on winter evenings even if you have a warm beverage and stay snuggled up in a blanket?
- Does your conservatory’s average temperature reach the boiling point or does it stay consistently cold?
- Does your garden face the north or south?
- Do you feel any draughts?
- When the rain is coming down is your roof too noisy?
- Or does it ever leak due to the unpredictable weather in Great Britain combined with the dodgy seal or joint that you have been planning to repair?
If you notice that from time to time you tend to abandon your conservatory, get it changed into an all-weather conservatory that you will be able to use at all times of the year by employing a couple of our cost-effective and practical suggestions for making modifications to it.
How to make your conservatory usable all year long
A fair weather conservatory can be turned into an all-season conservatory by adding a range of cooling and warming energy-efficient upgrades. Use our handy tips to more effectively manage the temperature of your conservatory to provide you with a more pleasant experience any month of the year.
If you are thinking of selling your home, increasing your curb appeal with a new window replacement programme can help set your house above the rest. Energy efficient triple glazing or the very best replacing double glazing sold correctly to the prospective buyer can show ongoing energy costs-saving for their new home.
Conservatory Location
Your conservatory’s position can contribute to how it retains and collects heat during the day. West-facing and south-facing conservatories warm up during the day, but additional ventilation might be required by opening windows, doors, and vents during the summer so that temperatures are kept balmy.
When it comes to cooler temperatures, east-facing and north-facing conservatories tend to be more vulnerable due to not having any direct sunlight. The cooler easterly breeze’s direction can benefit from the extra insulation to help stay warm.
Conservatory Walls
In order to be classified as a conservatory and not be subject to building regulations reviews, the walls of the conservatory need to be comprised of 50% glass or more.
Typically glass is a poor insulator, which adds to the challenge of effectively managing a conservatory’s temperature.
Given that the sun pours inside during the summer and throughout the winter the heat escapes, consider having a brick dwarf wall added at the base of your conservatory so that exposed glass is limited as much as possible.
You can insulate any brickwork to help regulate your conservatory’s temperature even further so that it can be used all year round.
Conservatory Roof
Most heat escapes through the roof. So an insulated conservatory roof that has vents will help you achieve having an all-year-round conservatory by reflecting heat when it is not needed and keeping it in when it is.
Conservatory roofs made of 32mm polycarbonate are a less expensive option to prevent heat loss. However, a double-glazed glass conservatory full of insulating argon gas over the long term is more likely to be a more energy-efficient and cost-effective option.