Conservatory, best way to heat?

keystone

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Yes I am correct. And very familiar with the Building Regulations.

See Part L - http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/AD_L1B_wm.pdf

Right after the title page.
Where it says "Main Changes in the 2010 Edition"
Point 2.

..."and where the heating system of the building is not extended"..

You need to read it again.

Cheers

keystone

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Whether an extension is habitable or not has nothing at all to do with whether it needs planning permission.

You need to read what I wrote again.

Cheers

southcoastrgi

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Yes I am correct. And very familiar with the Building Regulations.

See Part L - http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/AD_L1B_wm.pdf

Right after the title page.
Where it says "Main Changes in the 2010 Edition"
Point 2.

..."and where the heating system of the building is not extended"..

very interesting, i would draw your attention to pages 12 & 13 point 4.8, so from what i can gather if the OP retains the doors to the conservatory then this isn't classed as an extension & therefore the 25% glazing/floor area doesn't apply & therefore as long as the heating circuit in that area has seperate time & temp controls then this would satisfy the building regs, if however if the doors etc are removed then this is classed as an extension & therefore the glazing area would become a problem, is this how others are reading it ?

gas4you

A conservatory can legally be heated from the existing central heating system, but it MUST be on a separate zone with its own timer/programmer and room thermostat.

It is not sufficient to just add radiators and fit them with TRV's.

The above is why it is more common these days to have electric heaters put in there, as it can be cheaper and will comply fully with building regs about the conservatory having to have a separate heating system/zone.

A conservatory also has to have a door to shut it off from other rooms, ie it cannot have a wall knocked through and left permanently open, again due to energy efficiency regs.

Gloomendoom

southcoastrgi wrote: »

very interesting, i would draw your attention to pages 12 & 13 point 4.8, so from what i can gather if the OP retains the doors to the conservatory then this isn't classed as an extension & therefore the 25% glazing/floor area doesn't apply & therefore as long as the heating circuit in that area has seperate time & temp controls then this would satisfy the building regs, if however if the doors etc are removed then this is classed as an extension & therefore the glazing area would become a problem, is this how others are reading it ?

Yes. I asked for clarification on that from the local building regs office and they confirmed that, to qualify for the relaxed regs/no regs as a conservatory, it must be possible to completely shut it off from the rest of the house,

I need to give them a call to clarify the heating issue now.

Gloomendoom

gas4you wrote: »

A conservatory can legally be heated from the existing central heating system, but it MUST be on a separate zone with its own timer/programmer and room thermostat.

I think the underfloor system I looked at qualifies as it had all those things plus it's own pump.

liubeliu

fluffymuffy wrote: »

The cheapest way to heat a conservatory is with an Air Source Heat Pump.

- aka a split air con unit run in heating mode. They produce up to 4 times as much heat as the energy put in. We have a 1kW unit that produces 3.5kW of heat. The electric just drives the pump and the big fan in the outside unit and the little one in the inside unit.

The cheapest units I've seen are from Vyair.

Look at the backs of the buildings in your town centre - you'll see all these square air con boxes on the backs of old & grotty buildings - they're not for cooling - they're for heating. And since last year you no longer need Planning Permission to have one at home.

I did this in the conservatory in my last house. And with the remote control you can warm/cool the conservatory ready for entering into it. Ours was south facing so having aircon was a god send.

yangptangkipperbang

T_T wrote: »

Cheap to buy...not so cheap to run effectively.

As I said, I have not noticed any great difference in my electricity bills - and it didn't cost me hundreds of pounds to install.

T_T_2

keystone wrote: »

Its not illegal. Thats abject nonsense. However:

1. Extending the heating system into a conservatory means that Building Regulations - specifically Part L will now apply.

2. Extending the heating system into a conservatory means that it becomes habitable accommodation and therefore becomes subject to planning and will eat into your permitted development allowance for the future.

Cheers

It may also have implications on your council tax band if you were 'borderline' in the first place. Not sure on what criteria are required to trigger a reassessment of council tax. I'd be interested in hearing from someone who does know.

planning_officer

fluffymuffy wrote: »

The cheapest way to heat a conservatory is with an Air Source Heat Pump.
.... And since last year you no longer need Planning Permission to have one at home.

There are still several criteria that need to be met before an air source heat pump doesn't require express planning permission - so some will require planning permission if they don't meet the criteria.