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