Heating a Conservatory ?

Buffythedebtslayer

I hope this is the right place?

Our conservatory is freezing in the winter, ice forms on the windows!

and if we have the kitchen door open the heat goes straight out and downstairs is gets cold and then we put on the heating and so on - it will end up costing us money

Of course the obvious answer is to keep the door shut but that pretty much means not using the room, which is a shame, it would be nice to have use of it but it is too cold to sit in unless you are under a duvet and wearing many layers. It also means no one can stay over on Sofa bed.

It is heating by one Radiator which is behind a sideboard,

Do other people have warm conservatories? would it be better to put the sofa bed in front of the Radiator? Use shiny reflectors behind the radiator?

It is three sided stuck on the back of the house with windows making about 70% of the structure?

I know it is a silly very unimportant problem really but I just wonder what other people do with conservatories in the winter!!

any suggestions?
thanks

Buffy

McKneff

i have a very cold conservatory like you,
We enjoy using the room and have an electric convector heater in there, yes it does cost money but i have come to the conclusion that i like using the room and if it costs me an extra fiver a week to heat it then i am quite happy to pay it.
I am b...g..d if i am going to be cold in my own house. I cant think of anyother way round the problem. (We have warm air heating so cannot extend this into the conservatory as it would entail major building work)

ariba10

Could you not fit a larger radiator, or perhaps a second one.?

There is quite a heat loss in conservatories even when double glazed.

peediedj

we have a electric heater in ours,switch it on 15 mins before dinner and its lovely and warm,but overnight frost does appear in windows,as 2 expensive to leave heater on all night

level200

is it possible to install a wood burner in a conservatory? if so how?

McKneff

peediedj wrote: »

we have a electric heater in ours,switch it on 15 mins before dinner and its lovely and warm,but overnight frost does appear in windows,as 2 expensive to leave heater on all night

A timer on our heater works for us, comes on at 6.15 about half an hour before we get up and its grand when we come down to warmth. Only about a fiver in the shops and well worth it.

peediedj

anniehanlon wrote: »

A timer on our heater works for us, comes on at 6.15 about half an hour before we get up and its grand when we come down to warmth. Only about a fiver in the shops and well worth it.

our has frost guard on it,so heaters suppsoed to come on when frosty outside,but since we stay in aviemore,ever night and a lot of days are forst so would cost to much to keep it on

Buffythedebtslayer

thanks for the replies,

I don't think we could fit another radiator, We do have a fan heater that I could put on a timer......that's a good idea.

I will eventually do the tin foil thing down the back of the radiator and move the Sofa bed to be in front of it.

Also I wondered if hanging curtains might help?

Its just a shame to waste the space really.

thanks again

xxx

creditcritter

the best way of heating a conservatory is an underfloor system joined onto your excisting heating .

Suzy_M

I'm sorry but before you consider heating options you ought to consider exactly what the structure is and how it was built.

What you have is a conservatory, i.e. a glorified greenhouse stuck on the side of a building. It is not a room and it is not part of the house building.

I appreciate these are marketed as extra living space but they are basic glass and plastic or timber boxes that were never designed for use as a habitable rooms. Apart from the very poor insulation qualities of glass, plastic and timber compared to a properly constructed extension many were built without any form of floor insulation, in some cases you would be lucky if there was a damp proof membrane.

If you are going to try to heat the existing structure to a comfortable level it will cost you a small fortune. What you will be paying for is heating the air outside the consevatory. - And if the conservatory faces anywhere near North you might just as well throw money straight on to a fire.

Perhaps you would do better by first considering how to conserve heat in a conservatory - extra draughtproofing, roof insulation etc.

I don't wish to denigrate conservatories generally but I do feel for homeowners who have too high expectations of a conservatory because they think of it as a habitable room.

ormus

a simple electric oil rad with a stat, is enough for most cases.
as been said, it aint a cure all for a habitable room though, as its expensive to run, long term.