Heating a newly built conservatory

[PointyDogs]

We have just had a conservatory built, and after talking to various builders who all said the same thing we haven't got any built-in heating. They all suggested that a plug-in heater of some sort will do the job for a lot less than building in underfloor heating.

So what do we buy? I was looking at an oil-filled dimplex, but have read they are expensive to run. Oil-free are supposed to be slightly more economical I think. Or an electric panel radiator? I don't like convector heaters as they dry out the air too much, and never seem very effective to me.

The conservatory is about 15sq metres, and will be a playroom for our toddler, so in use daytime year-round hopefully. It has 100mm insulation in the floor, insulated dwarf walls on three sides, and good quality glass and a tinted roof. North facing, no blinds as yet.

Any suggestions or experience of what to buy would be appreciated!!

Good luck with that Pointy. I've had two conservatories, one South facing with no heating apart for electric heaters, and one east facing with underfloor heating plus heat pump/air conditioning. The problem is how do you keep it cool in spring / summer and how do you make sure it's warm when you need it to be?
Well I don't have the answer. The south facing one was unbearably bright and hot from March to November. The east facing one was cold in winter and still too hot in spring/summer unless I kept underfloor heating on 90% of the time in winter and air conditioning on a lot of the time in summer.
The under flooring heating increased my yearly bill by about £800
Wouldn't have one again!

We have an electric heater with a thermostat that kicks in if it gets too cold. When it is cold I put the heater up high for 20 mins and shut the doors. Get a really thick rug that covers most of the floor and take it up in spring. I love our north facing conservatory.

I've just come across catalytic gas heaters while researching, would that be more economical than electric? The door through to the dining room will be open when the conservatory is in use, so the heating from there will filter through. So confused by all the options!

I have my kitchen in a north/east facing conservatory. We have underfloor heating and it is brilliant. You have to be warm in the conservatory or you will hardly ever use it. Mine is about 5.5m x 8m. Our previous conservatory was heated by two vertical radiators but this was ineffective. That conservatory was about the same size as yours. They can overheat in summer so have lots of ventilation but is am not sure your suggested heating will make it usable on the colder days. Sounds a bit too big an area for a plug in heater in my view. It will also be hot if your toddler touches it. I would never give up on the underfloor heating. Warm and cozy everywhere. I assume you are double or triple glazed so I don't think it is worth skimping on the heating.

I have a south facing conservatory which we use as a playroom as well. I had rads connected to the central heating when we moved in. We've been in a year now and I love it. I turn the rads off in the evening and back on in the morning to take the chill off. The sun warms it in the day if there is any and again the rads go off. In the summer I open the windows and double doors. It did get too hot some days over the summer and then no one plays in there. The previous owners had electric radiators plugged in, but I didn't want the cost as we do use it daily. Having said that, we are looking to have the roof insulated and plastered to increase the heat retention in the winter.

My parents took similar advice and didn't get underfloor heating - big mistake imho. The portable heater heats the air fine but the floor is freezing - not great for dcs to play on at all.

You should never think of a conservatory as a regular room.
Underfloor heating is the only way to make them year round habitable/
I love my conservatory but it gets shut up from November to March. I might heat it if we have guests at Christmas, I have an electric wall heater and oil radiator but it's like trying to heat the planet.

Oh and having the doors open heat doesn't "filter through" but cold draughts blow in.

Thanks for the replies. Underfloor heating isn't an option as the floor is already laid, we made that decision months ago. Hopefully with the amount of floor insulation, and a vinyl rather than tile floor it won't be cold underfoot - a rug will fix it if it does turn out that way. We're seriously looking at the catalytic heaters, seem like a good, if bulky, option. General consensus online seems to be that gas heating will always be more economical than electric, but I do like the idea of a wall mounted radiator on the dwarf wall, it would look a lot better! Oh well, we'll see how we get on this winter once the temperature drops, and take it from there.

Oh, and we have draughts coming in, I'll be back onto the builders!