Conservatories are fantastic for adding extra space to your home in a cost-effective way. They offer a light, airy multi-functional room that helps connect your inside and outside spaces. However, there are several issues that can occur with conservatories that may limit their usability. Fortunately most of these issues can be dealt with if you take the right steps.

Temperature

One of the most common problems with conservatories is their tendency to be too cold to use in winter and too hot for comfort at the height of summer. The problem is that glass is a relatively poor insulator meaning it allows heat to leak out in winter and too much in during very hot days. The key to solving this is to improve the insulation value of your structure.

One way to do this is by adding insulated curtains which can help to reduce the transfer of heat in and out of your conservatory. However, the most effective solution is to replace some of the glass with a different, more insulating material. A solid roof can usually be added relatively easily to most conservatories and should offer significantly better insulation than glass. You can usually add even more insulation to the underside of solid tiles, further improving the thermal performance of the structure.

Brightness

A room full of sunlight sounds wonderful and, at the right times of day, it is. However, many conservatories can become far too bright at certain times of day, making them less enjoyable to use. Finding an effective way to provide shade against excessive brightness is important if you want to be able to use your conservatory right throughout the day. Blinds offer a relatively cheap and easy solution while polarised glass is an effective if more expensive option.

Noise

Because glass is so thin it is not naturally a good barrier to sound. Opting for good quality double or triple glazing can help to prevent this becoming an issue, however if you still find that your conservatory is letting in too much noise you can usually do something about it. Generally speaking the same solutions that work for heat insulation will also work for sound insulation. Heavy thermal curtains can have a positive effect but adding a solid roof with extra insulation is a more ideal option which should provide more significant benefits.

Condensation

Conservatories are often prone to problems with condensation, especially during winter. Because your conservatory will tend to be much colder than other rooms in your house during winter, when air circulates into your conservatory from elsewhere any water vapour contained in the air will cool and turn back into liquid water in the form of condensation.

The other problem is that because conservatories are not subject to building regulations they often have relatively poor ventilation, meaning that any water vapour that finds its way into your conservatory has nowhere to go. It will therefore tend to build up leading to condensation.

The simplest solution is to buy a dehumidifier and run this for at least a few hours a day. This can use a lot of electricity, however, and is not an energy efficient or permanent solution. Adding better ventilation will help, although this can be difficult depending on the exact structure of your conservatory. The ideal solution is to find a way to equalise the temperature between your conservatory and the rest of your house. To do this you will again need to improve the insulation properties of the structure in the ways suggested above, then add some kind of heating. Be careful though as adding any permanent form of heating to a conservatory, such as radiators or underfloor heating, can cause issues with building regulations, so it is advisable to discuss this with your local building control officer.

Metrotile’s lightweight conservatory roof tiles can help solve many of the problems often associated with conservatories. They offer a solid roofing option which is up to seven times lighter than traditional materials meaning they can be easily fitted to your existing conservatory without the need for major structural changes.

To find out more, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a quick response.