Making conservatory habitable in winter

A question about : Making conservatory habitable in winter

Is it possible to make an existing conservatory habitable in winter? Ours is baltic and it seems such a shame to have this unusable space.

Here are the details:

3.5 x 3m size with gable end to the front
Wooden frame, double glazed windows
Dwarf wall along one side & front, 3/4 wall alongside third wall
Triple wall poly carb roof
All walls have insulation in the cavity
Suspended wooden floor

We spoke to neighbours before we got it done and all the ones who had glass roofs said don't do it as it made theirs far too hot in summer. In turn this means they cannot use their lounge either as its impossible to get cool air inside because like us they have to open the door to the conservatory then open the conservatory door to get any ventillation to the lounge. We therefore opted for polycarb and I now think its too late to swap to glass as the structure probably wouldnt take the weight.

Any thoughts on what we can do? Knocking it down and building an extension is not an option as we don't have the funds to do so.

Best answers:

• What is the existing heating arrangement?
  If wet CH, can you extend the circuit and place rads on the dwarf walls?
  Usual issue with these conservatories, too hot in summer and too cold in winter!
• You could try replacing the roof...
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.php?t=964503
• Its possible to heat the room but it will soon get expensive, as other have said either heat it with your CH or some other source. conservatory are best left for summer enjoyment/ keeping plants out of the worse of the winter weather other that there pretty much useless in the winter. Personally I would advise against have conservatories at all and go with a proper extension/sunroom.
  
• Our conservatory is freezing/damp in winter and boiling hot in summer! Shame cos it's a lovely room otherwise. Even putting central heating in, you'll be paying to heat the crows!
• When we moved in here 7 years ago ,it as a " garden room", dwarf walls , then white DG windows all round , its 12 x 12 , also as a nice big radiator on the wall........
  The roof is constructed of felt and baton with sterling board and celotex insulation , insulated dwarf walls , it keep lovely and warm in winter , plus its south facing so a lot of days this winter when the sun is out its very very warm in their without heating , so you really dont need heating on................
  I cant say what or how much this would have been to build , but without it we wouldnt be able to use that room in the winter, its saved us lots in energy bills, we use the room all the time .......
  You need to get some prices to put a roof on it , then you can use it all year round...............Good luck.....
• Thanks for all your replies.
  We have looked into all our options and have decided to get some prices for the materials we need to upgrade the roof to glass. I've since found out that the conservatory was constructed it was built to take a glass roof but for various reasons we got polycarb instead.
  We did consider a more solid roof when we had it built but after viewing a neighbours decided against it as it blocks out far too much light from the lounge - they end up switching on their ceiling light in the lounge during the day as the light is so poor.
  Looks like we are going to be busy this year!
• Look at the u values of the glass. You want argon-filled double glazing (or even triple) with as low a number as possible
• Mine faces south and has a 60cm*60cm radiator connected to house CH.
  As the sun has got higher over the last few weeks, the heat gain plus the radiator makes it OK to sit in from 12 noon to 5pm
• I fit suspended ceilings for a living and I have, in the last 2/3 years have had a high demand for fitting an insulated lightweight MF (plasterboard) ceiling in conservatories because of the same problem and every single person (approx 40 to 50) have been completely satisfied .. It's more affordable than these new roofs.. There's loads of different designs and lighting options ...
• A plasterboard suspended ceiling is only half the cost of a solid glass roof ?!?
  Cant be that pricey surely ?
• WE got shot of ours for this reason and had a 'sunroom' built instead. Lots of windows, but brick and a real roof. Not a cheap option but works for us. About to go and start painting it now.
  Also meant we can protect some special features of the oldest part of the house, and it is now in keeping with the rest of the building and doesn't look like such an ugly monstrosity any more
• As I am sure you may be aware, there are regulations concerning the implementation of heating to conservatories.
  If they are to conform to these regulations they cannot be connected to your main CH system. The stipulations note that heating is to be provided from an isolated system and as such this generally leaves you with two options. The installation of an electric radiator usually wall mounted or alternatively the installation of a wet or dry underfloor heating system.
  I prefer the electric underfloor heating system from a practical standpoint and it is generally cheaper to install than the 'wet' system however the running costs for the 'dry' system can be higher if one were to do a like for like comparison.
  The benefit of the dry system is relative ease of installation onto most substrates with minimal effect to floor levels and can be covered over with most common floor coverings, tiles, laminate etc... So that covers heating
  In terms of keeping the conservatory cool I would always recommend installation of a roof vent, it may cost more but is worth it every day of the week(they can also be retro fitted at a cost). Lastly ensure that there are always at least two windows installed to encourage air circulation.
• We've got a conservatory with a polycarb roof as well, its got an electrical vent and every window has a small opening window above it so its fine in the summer, but obviously in the winter it isn't great. I've fitted a 2kw thermostatically controlled convection heater on one wall and whilst not ideal at all cost-wise we tend not to have it on for too long (switch on for 20 mins or so to warm the room up then open the internal door and let the main central heating top it up, now and again it'll need a little top up from the heater, once the kids are in bed its shut off)
  Obviously i'm throwing a fair bit of cash away every year so I was wondering how much benefit i'd get from making some DIY roof insulation panels to sit in the recess where the roof 'glass' is.
  I've thought about:-
  1. bubble wrap (then do I use the small bubbles or the large bubbles?)
  2. bubble wrap with a board backing.
  3. thermawrap general purpose insulation https://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebas...se-wrap-127033
  4. the silver insulation you use when laying laminate flooring over concrete https://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebas...10-sq-m-809710
  Or any combination of the above, it obviously wont look great, but will it save much?, the panels can easily be stored in the loft for the rest of the year
• We installed roof blinds in our conservatory which has a glass roof - these are really good at controlling heat in the summer and to some extent help hold heat longer in the winter.
  We've also got a slimline electric convection heater on one of the dwarf walls which works really well but it eats through electricity. That said this is probably the most practical option available to you now that the conservatory has been built as the heaters themselves can be picked up quite cheaply.
• We live in the North East of England. We've got a Pennine conservatory, short walls, double glazed windows, triple layer polycarbonate roof. 4m square, built so we access it through the old double glazed patio doors. There was a great thick block of expanded polystyrene within the concrete base. There are air leakages in the ridge for ventilation.
  At the outset, we got thermal insulated blinds all over. I am totally unconvinced of their value.
  We are now trying to work out what we can do to be able to use it throughout the year.
  In summer, it gets over 50 degrees after the sun comes round from behind the neighbours house around 11am. If we sit in it with the doors open, it cools and is bearable after quarter to half an hour. But it does not retain the heat as the sun goes down.
  In winter, it gets down to 1 or 2 degrees typically, and in the really bad winter a few years ago it did go below freezing. We had a 3kw electric panel radiator fitted as recommended, and daytime in winter it USALLY manges to keep the conservatory bearable. It is nonsensical to heat the room except when we intend to actually use it.
  The only plant that has survived is a lemon tree. (Cacti would but we don't like them) The daily hot/cool or cold is too much for anything else.
  I wish we'd had underfloor heating, as our feet are the first things that tell us to leave as dusk settles.
  Pennine are trying to push their new conservatory, which has unique to them special coatings on special glass. Supposedly the U value is 1. It self cleans. Supposedly with a glass roof of this stuff, it makes the conservatory livable throughout the year, removing the extremes.
  If a roof was put on the conservatory, not only would it be less light, but the through lounge would be positively dark and cave like.
  Does anyone have real life non-sales brochure information about hte pennine system?