Heating for a conservatory

[darbo1103]

I am having a conservatory built and was wondering what type of heater to go for to enable me to use it in the winter. I have gas central heating, but don;t really want to extend it into the conny as it means I will have to have it on all over the house when in there. I have looked at under floor, but don't want the hassle of broken elements when the floor is laid. Can I use wall mounted gas heaters? Would be greatful for any suggestions.

[eash]

We just had a wall mounted electric heater in our conservatory....

[ethandron]

we use an electric oil-filled radiator in ours, but if we were doing it again we'd definately have it connected up to the central heating system. it gets very cold in there in the winter and i feel if it was centrally heated we'd use it a lot more. as it is, we rarely use it over the winter months.

[DEN53]

I agree with ethandron, run pipes to the conservatory and get the central heating rads out there - conservatories do strike cold in winter and boiling hot in the summer.

In my other house we had a 10 x 10 conservatory and had 3 double rads and it was still cold !

[darbo1103]

It's going to be 11'10" long x 14'2" wide x 10'5" high. Do you think two rads would be enough? I would like to use it as much as possible throughout the year. It has a 900mm high dwarf wall around it to fix to. Is there anything else worth considering whilst it is being built as I would like to cover all aspects of heating, wiring, entertainment, etc whilst is't being built, so I don't have to put things in afterwards. I have Sky+ and on my dish (on the front of my house) there is a spare coax outlet. Would this be OK to attach coax to and 'throw' over the roof to the back of the house for a Sky box?

[The Builder]

Darbo ...... conservatories are notoriously hard to heat. The heat losses are enormous.......... mostly through the roof. I guess the glazing is all twin walled polycarbonate.............. nor a great insulator at all. If it's not yet built ................ consider thermal insulating concrete blocks for the masonry.......... wouldn't add much to the cost.
I sympathise with Den and his three double rads............... some heating bill.......... :o(
By far, the best thing to consider would be lined, insulating blinds for the roof, and also the windows if you like. You can balance how much you open them with the amount of light/sunshine you want to see.

[countrykid]

I agree with all who suggest connecting to existing central heating. Also look to ensure the concrete floor incorporates insulation. As well as thinking about warmth in winter, don't overlook how hot they get in spring and summer, even if not fully south facing. Ours got like a furnace, so look to incorperateas many opening windows as poss(top opening fanlights for better security). Finally, is it a lean to type, or Victorian/Georgian style. If Lean To, rather than go for regular twin or tripple polycarbonate, ask your builer about the much better stuff (about 4 inches thick> I can't recall the brand name, but it is semi clear and contains strentheners made of aluminium, which means you can even walk on it (useful when cleaning the roof), it also means that the weight of snow is less of a problem. Hope this helps

[darbo1103]

Thanks guys. This has certainly given me something to think about before it's built. I'll speak to the builder and run some of your ideas by him. The conny will face South, so I am expecting it to be hot in the summer months.

[countrykid]

Hi Darbo, Our Connie faced south and believe me it was like a furnace in summer. Arriving home from work, we would open the sliding doors into it from the lounge, and the heat would quite literally "hit you" aqs you dashed to open the conservatory door. If you are able to build into the roof an auto opening skylight - which opens as the heat builds up, this may help ( a bit like what happens in greenhouses. I know you asked about heating not cooling, but do take the latter seriousley, otherwise you might find you don't want to use it in summer either if it is true south. Maybe even think about having a decent quality "potable air con unit" which vents the hot air out via a flexi pipe, a bit like a tumble dryer. Ideally this pipe needs ducting via a wall outlet low down - your builder could easily incorporate one. If you do go for a portable air con, avoid the cheap and cheerful type which use water vapour or icepacks. Go for something like "Purelife" which have a proper evaporator. Good luck and enjoy