Heating a Conservatory ?

moneypooh

I disagree with the sweeping statement that they can't be habitable rooms in winter. Our conservatory was added to give the children their own lounge for games/TV etc.. It is built on a brick wall, has a (6') radiator that's connected to our house heating, roof and window blinds. It was built properly and has a proper damp course and the walls/floor are insulated. We discussed our needs with the builder beforehand and it's been great. It's south facing and even in winter is really warm. If we get any sun it can get too warm in the winter!!

I appreciate that most aren't like this, but to say that they can't be used as part of the home in winter isn't always the case.

Mutton_Geoff

We use ours a lot. It has doors from the kitchen to close it off when not in use but we replaced the radiator with a six foot tall thing and boost the heat occasionally with a fan heater just prior to breakfast/dinner. The rad goes off when we are not using it, and of course the heat all goes out of the roof, but it's no worse than using a patio heater and we've got the advantage of an extra room in the house.

27col

I never said that a conservatory could not be used as a habitable room. What I said was that it was not classed as a habitable room from the point of view of building control etc.
Obviously you can use it, but you will have to pay the price in extra heating costs. As someone has pointed out, they can be quite pleasant during the day, especially if the sun is shining. I do appreciate that they can make a valuable contribution to the living space in a smaller sized house.
Mutton Geoff appears to understand exactly the points that I made about the limitations of conservatory use. His comments about patio heaters, and comparing them with the heating of conservatories, illustrates my point. If there is anything more wasteful of energy then I would like to know what it is. I am glad to see that most big stores have stopped selling them.

ixwood

You're up against it. What about bubble glazing? it's supposed to be quite effective and a lot less ugly than you'd think. It's what people do with greenhouses (which is effectively what a conservatory is).

Google it if you're interested.