Heating a Conservatory

WhoamI2022

I have a large conservatory which is a beautiful room but difficult to use at this time of year. I was planning on changing to a sun room but Covid hit that budget. At the moment we have two radiators in it and they do heat it up but it takes ages and you waste a lot of oil because it is also heating other rooms in house.



I am wondering if any options to heat? I don't want a superser in house because of the compressed gas but anything else worth looking at? Just some ideas.....thanks

Odyssey 2005

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

I have a large conservatory which is a beautiful room but difficult to use at this time of year. I was planning on changing to a sun room but Covid hit that budget. At the moment we have two radiators in it and they do heat it up but it takes ages and you waste a lot of oil because it is also heating other rooms in house.



I am wondering if any options to heat? I don't want a superser in house because of the compressed gas but anything else worth looking at? Just some ideas.....thanks

Have had the same problem for years,tried everything,only in the past 6 weeks fitted a small stove. It has absolutely transformed the downstairs of the house. Kicking ourselves we didn't do it 13 years ago

Pkiernan

Wood burning stove, or parafin heater if theres ventilation.

WhoamI2022

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Have had the same problem for years,tried everything,only in the past 6 weeks fitted a small stove. It has absolutely transformed the downstairs of the house. Kicking ourselves we didn't do it 13 years ago

We have cut off the room with a large Triple glazed door, before it literally sucked the heat out of the house.

Did you install a standard wood burner?

JustAThought

Pkiernan wrote: »

Wood burning stove, or parafin heater if theres ventilation.

Question - love wood burning stoves - but would this not cause the room to condensate terribly ( or perhaps you have blinds?) I have floor to cealing windows in the kitchen but when I cook with multiple rings they steam up badly unless I have to door open. Not a big issue as it then just dries off/in .

Man with broke phone

Fella I know put a air con in one, they heat and cool. Says it works great.

greasepalm

Maybe something like this?

https://www.pureheat.ie/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlvT8BRDeARIsAACRFiVJQnGcCqcYjELvz286Gbh9q9tR12Zt8sl40dZDcPdJ15jKM71-sp4aAiUoEALw_wcB

ted1

Get a infra red heater

https://www.infraredcompany.com/collections/conservatory

Irish companies tend to apply a big markup. Don’t pay silly money.

https://www.hifi-tower.ie/Home-Living/Heating/Infrared-Heater/Wonderwall-Smart-Infrared-Heater-60x100cm-600W-Weekly-Timer-IP24-White-600-W.html

Odyssey 2005

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

We have cut off the room with a large Triple glazed door, before it literally sucked the heat out of the house.

Did you install a standard wood burner?

Yes,a small one. Unbelievable heat,heats the sunroom,kitchen and dining room. Have all the rads off... seriously

An Ri rua

Pkiernan wrote: »

Wood burning stove, or parafin heater if theres ventilation.

Agreed. I use an Inverter 5006 daily (according to the weather) for 10 years now and it's never let me down. Fantastic piece of kit. Raw, hot heat when needed. 3.2kw. or a very light trickle of heat when not i.e. set it on eco and it switches off as required. About €300 delivered and you'll get 20l drums from McLoughlin Oil or Sheds Direct for about €38.
Despite what you'll read online, you can happily burn kerosene in a paraffin heater if you have good ventilation. I add Dipetane to mine to optimise combustion and a 20l drum is currently costing €12. Paraffin has not tracked down with home heating prices.
Would I burn kerosene where there are children? I'm not so sure (I probably would as there are no more downsides that any other environmental risk we all face daily), but I do so with precious pets and an older relation. There is a smell at startup but, after that, just great heat.
I used that Inverter 5006 (5096 is the latest iteration) in a rented bungalow in the winter of 2010; in the hallway. Out of over 100 houses, mine was the only one with running water throughout that episode. Fantastic piece of kit, carbon monoxide detector, knock sensor, family friendly and easily serviceable by yourself once you do the simple basics. They're extraordinarily well engineered. In 10 years I've had zero issues apart from dirty fuel and hence dirty filter.

Research Corona and Zibro heaters.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NBUVMHG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LFtNFbEHQYZCZ

Wearb

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

I have a large conservatory which is a beautiful room but difficult to use at this time of year. I was planning on changing to a sun room but Covid hit that budget. At the moment we have two radiators in it and they do heat it up but it takes ages and you waste a lot of oil because it is also heating other rooms in house.



I am wondering if any options to heat? I don't want a superser in house because of the compressed gas but anything else worth looking at? Just some ideas.....thanks

Why not create a separate zone for it.

First Up

cosyroof.com. Replace the glass with a solid roof. Made a huge difference to ours.

WhoamI2022

On the infra red heater, do you need to position in room so it has a direct view of everything? or can it go in a cornor type thing? Thank

ted1

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

On the infra red heater, do you need to position in room so it has a direct view of everything? or can it go in a cornor type thing? Thank

It needs a view

An Ri rua

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Yes,a small one. Unbelievable heat,heats the sunroom,kitchen and dining room. Have all the rads off... seriously

Very tastefully done.

WhoamI2022

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Yes,a small one. Unbelievable heat,heats the sunroom,kitchen and dining room. Have all the rads off... seriously

Lovely job. Four small kids is the issue. We have a monster one in house and wife has me driven nuts about it. What about the wooden pellet jobs?

Odyssey 2005

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Lovely job. Four small kids is the issue. We have a monster one in house and wife has me driven nuts about it. What about the wooden pellet jobs?

Very spendy,and in my opinion industrial looking

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

cosyroof.com. Replace the glass with a solid roof. Made a huge difference to ours.

Had them out. Orignally they said the whole roof would come off. Then it was the current roof supports would be re-used.


What did they do for you? would love some feedback

JustAThought

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Had them out. Orignally they said the whole roof would come off. Then it was the current roof supports would be re-used.


What did they do for you? would love some feedback

Relation of mine put cealing blinds in - huge octagonal shaped south facing sunroom. Said it made a big difference to being able to retain the heat & use it in winter.

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Had them out. Orignally they said the whole roof would come off. Then it was the current roof supports would be re-used.


What did they do for you? would love some feedback

Took off the glass and put the solid roof on. Everything else (electrics, windows) put back and plastering/painting done. Took a day and a bit.

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

Took off the glass and put the solid roof on. Everything else (electrics, windows) put back and plastering/painting done. Took a day and a bit.

Did take the entire roof off? including the existing rafters which are holding up the glass? or reuse the existing rafters?



How long have you had done?

afatbollix

Fix the real problem of heat escaping by putting on a roof.

By the sounds of it, you have enough heating in it, it's just that it can't keep the heat in.

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Did take the entire roof off? including the existing rafters which are holding up the glass? or reuse the existing rafters?

They used the existing frame of the conservatory. Just took off the bits around the glass roof. We went through it in detail beforehand with their rep (Elise?) so everything was clear and the crew knew what to do. First class.

WhoamI2022 wrote:

How long have you had done?

Summer last year. Very happy with it. We already had a c/h radiator in the conservatory but the new roof has made a huge difference.

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

They used the existing frame of the conservatory. Just took off the bits around the glass roof. We went through it in detail beforehand with their rep (Elise?) so everything was clear and the crew knew what to do. First class.



Summer last year. Very happy with it. We already had a c/h radiator in the conservatory but the new roof has made a huge difference.

Yes Elise :-) she has worked in every single one of those companies. Last time she emailed me was in Ultratherm. I have a feeling they are all the one company and just change name every few months

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Yes Elise :-) she has worked in every single one of those companies. Last time she emailed me was in Ultratherm. I have a feeling they are all the one company and just change name every few months

Could be. My experience was good anyway.

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

Could be. My experience was good anyway.

Thanks for all the feedback, have you had any cracks in the ceiling?

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback, have you had any cracks in the ceiling?

No, all good.

MicktheMan

What you need to remember with sunrooms, conservatories and any other room with a lot of glazing is that the glazing is your enemy during the winter regardless of the amount of heating present such as rads, stoves etc. The reason is not only are the windows generally the weakest element for conductive heat loss but the actual glazing has a real & definite -ve impact on our skin. That's why closing the curtains or pulling the blinds at night generally has a noticeable and immediate +ve impact (the curtains / blinds act to block the -ve radiative effects on our skin).

On top of this also, conservatories in general are also jutting out from the main building so the external heatloss area is quite large in relation to the useable internal floor area.

And to top it all off, the airtightness is generally shot as well as they are designed mostly for summer use.

I'm not saying it can't be done but all of the above needs to be considered in order to be reasonably confident of success.

Odyssey 2005

afatbollix wrote: »

Fix the real problem of heat escaping by putting on a roof.

By the sounds of it, you have enough heating in it, it's just that it can't keep the heat in.

Wrong. My sunroom has a tiled roof,it was impossible to heat until I got a stove.

First Up

Odyssey 2005 wrote:

Wrong. My sunroom has a tiled roof,it was impossible to heat until I got a stove.

Was it insulated?

Odyssey 2005

First Up wrote: »

Was it insulated?

Yes. Very well as I discovered whilst fitting an outside socket. Roof was also insulated

First Up

Odyssey 2005 wrote:

Yes. Very well as I discovered whilst fitting an outside socket. Roof was also insulated

It's the roof insulation I was asking about. I'm no expert but I think the roof makes all the difference.

WhoamI2022

Could you take the double glazing out and replace with triple?

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Could you take the double glazing out and replace with triple?

Of course you could but glass is still glass.

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

Of course you could but glass is still glass.

Some of the windows have lost the gas so I was thinking of swapping out the large windows with triple instead of double glazed units.....

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Some of the windows have lost the gas so I was thinking of swapping out the large windows with triple instead of double glazed units.....

I'd advise you to talk to an expert about it (preferably someone who isn't trying to sell you something.)

All I can tell you is that a solid roof solved the problem for us. We still have to heat it but now the heat stays in.

phormium

I have a solid roof on mine and basically just close the door on it from now until spring unless the sun shines which heats it up. It originally had two radiators but I actually removed one as it was in the way of the door and this resulted in disconnection of the other one. They were useless anyway, never heated the place any bit.

I was often tempted by one of those little gas stoves with the tank in it, not a super ser as such, much prettier looking thing than the bog standard super ser! I put the Christmas tree in there and at Christmas when the house is full of people and plenty warm I can open the doors as there is sufficient heat to go out there and bring up the temp for a while. It's the amount of glass really, I know that and there is no real way of solving the problem, it's fab for the rest of the year though

First Up

phormium wrote:

It's the amount of glass really, I know that and there is no real way of solving the problem

You have been told how to solve the problem.

WhoamI2022

First Up wrote: »

I'd advise you to talk to an expert about it (preferably someone who isn't trying to sell you something.)

All I can tell you is that a solid roof solved the problem for us. We still have to heat it but now the heat stays in.

I have talked to expert. The feeling was

1. Remove the current roof and replace with a solid roof which from 7k to 20k. best system is Guardian roof system more expensive but the best
2. Replace windows which have lost gas


In ideal World you would do both and review the heating system then. Budget constaints have hit. So even if I invested in a infrared heater it would be reused anyway so it is not dead money.



Changing the broken windows could help, at the moment it has 14 large panes of glass, 6 open and 8 don't. They have a plastic arch in them and because of the qty without gas companies have said would be cheaper to replace all without the arch inside than replacing the units and getting the arch put in to make them look similar.

First Up

WhoamI2022 wrote:

1. Remove the current roof and replace with a solid roof which from 7k to 20k. best system is Guardian roof system more expensive but the best 2. Replace windows which have lost gas

You can shop around on that but based on our experience, a solid roof makes a big difference. I would do that first and see what happens.

WhoamI2022 wrote:

Changing the broken windows could help, at the moment it has 14 large panes of glass, 6 open and 8 don't. They have a plastic arch in them and because of the qty without gas companies have said would be cheaper to replace all without the arch inside than replacing the units and getting the arch put in to make them look similar.

I can't comment on the technicalities of how to improve glass or gas. I think glass always leaks heat - but a solid roof doesn't.

phormium

First Up wrote: »

You have been told how to solve the problem.

Merely giving my perspective on trying to heat a sunroom with large windows! I'm not going to put curtains on them so not sure what solution you mean.

First Up

phormium wrote:

Merely giving my perspective on trying to heat a sunroom with large windows! I'm not going to put curtains on them so not sure what solution you mean.

A solid roof makes a big difference.

phormium

First Up wrote: »

A solid roof makes a big difference.

As I said in my post I have a solid roof already, it's the amount of window glass.

WhoamI2022

phormium wrote: »

I have a solid roof on mine and basically just close the door on it from now until spring unless the sun shines which heats it up. It originally had two radiators but I actually removed one as it was in the way of the door and this resulted in disconnection of the other one. They were useless anyway, never heated the place any bit.

I was often tempted by one of those little gas stoves with the tank in it, not a super ser as such, much prettier looking thing than the bog standard super ser! I put the Christmas tree in there and at Christmas when the house is full of people and plenty warm I can open the doors as there is sufficient heat to go out there and bring up the temp for a while. It's the amount of glass really, I know that and there is no real way of solving the problem, it's fab for the rest of the year though

Yes no matter what you do it will always lose heat. That is why I cut mine off with the triple glazing sliding door. Our's is so big is just seems like such a waste. Especially as it has TV etc in it, the kids use it as a large playroom as well so I would prefer to try use as best as possible. I might just buy the infrared, it might be the cheapest option to heat it up along with radiators


Of course long term plan would be take roof off and put on new one. Post covid I think

First Up

phormium wrote:

As I said in my post I have a solid roof already, it's the amount of window glass.

OK - I hadn't noticed that. Not a lot more you can do so.

WhoamI2022

My brother is builder, he said the only way you will get to keep heat in properly is take the whole thing down, build up the walls, put a full tiled roof on with insulation and then windows, but walls between the windows if you know what I mean.

TO me that loses the whole point of the conservatory as our in out of house in middle of garden which I love. So no matter what you do heat retention will be compromised with a conservatory/sun room