Conservatories - how do you heat yours?!

[Misty9]

I've got a large-ish conservatory connected to the house with patio doors. No heating and it's freezing at night. I'm going to get a thermal curtain but what is the best and most economical way to heat it during the day? Convector heater or oil filled? Or something else?

Underfloor heating. We used to have convector heaters and hated them. Having said that, we just don't heat it at night - we let the temperature fall.

Our kitchen is cold and the radiator isn't efficient.

Last year I bought and oil filled radiator and it's made a massive difference. It's so much more powerful than our plumber radiators.

I bought one with a timer so it comes on at 6am and now we have a warm kitchen!
It's from VonHaus and was about £50.
The only downside is it's a bit ugly!

The point of a conservatory is that it is cheap to build and does not have to meet building regulations, for example insulation standards. Like a garden shed. So for economy, you can shut the doors on it until summer, or invest in some jumpers.

Sorry.

We have an electric heater. It works much better than my plumbed in one. 10 minutes and the room is lovely and cosy.

Lockdown is getting to me....

I read this as Conservatives, how do you eat yours.

Why are you going into a conservatory at night in the winter anyway? That's not really the point of them. (tbh I hate them so am probably not going to give you the best advice!)

In winter I only use it in the day and I keep all the doors closed until it reaches a higher temperature than the house (is south facing so warms up pretty quick unless its a grey day like today)

@FinallyFluid

Lockdown is getting to me....

I read this as Conservatives, how do you eat yours.

I have clearly been focusing on too much politics recently because I read it as "Conservatives - How do you heat yours?"

I was going to suggest some hot chocolate.

@FinallyFluid

Lockdown is getting to me....

I read this as Conservatives, how do you eat yours.

Me too

Install a log burner

We just have an electric fan heater in ours, but we rarely use our conservatory over the winter months, so it just acts as extra insulation for the house.

I bought a house with a conservatory that had underfloor heating. It was awful - just caused condensation on the tiled floor! So dangerous.

I knocked it down and built a proper extension, best thing I ever did!

Would never ever have a conservatory again. Sorry I know that wasn't what you asked, but I hated mine.

Ours is 4m x 4m and we have an oil filled radiator plugged in on one corner in the winter, then put it away in summer. It's on a smart plug so I can either set it on a timer or turn it on without opening the doors and letting all the cold in the rest of the house! It gets warm quite quickly in there as a result.

We also have duette blinds on the windows which do make a bit of a difference too.

Oh this has brought back memories of Christmas dinner in my granny and grandads conservatory, the kids were always on the overflow table out there instead of the dining room. If the heater was on it would condensate so much it felt like it was raining. To get rid of the condensation you had to open the doors.

We didn't care, they are some of my best memories:)

I have a large conservatory and love it. I use it all year round. Heat it with a couple of electric heaters and have them on low at night to avoid any frost. I have also used a gas fire before which also works really well but is more obtrusive in the space.

We heat ours using an airconditioning system. Yes it massively helps that I run an aircon company, but once the system is installed, they are remarkably effective and cheaper than using the central heating.

Obviously then it's good in the summer when the conservatory is like a greenhouse because we can cool it.

The only thing you have to do is hide the gadget from the kids (and/or other half), otherwise.....just like at the office......you end up with Air-conditioning Wars....

An electric oil radiator and a fan heater for a quick burst of warmth, plus a dehumidifier because it gets very damp in the winter.

It's very well insulated so it's not actually hard to get warm.

I love my conservatory - it's filled with gorgeous plants and is my favourite room in the house! We use it unheated from the beginning of March to mid or sometimes end of November on sunny days. It's south facing so when the sun's shining it's lovely, even if it's chilly outside! From December to February we don't tend to go in there much as with no heating it does get too cold to sit with a coffee. If we ever move house, a conservatory will be one of my requirements in a new home.

lots of opinions on conservatories (and Conservatives 😂)

I should have said, it's the dc playroom hence being used in the evening. But it's South facing so isn't actually too bad during the day still - it's just late evening when it seems to really affect the temperature in the lounge, even with the patio doors closed. A thermal curtain should help hopefully. I've also bought a convector heater with a timer today.

Personally I'd rather knock the damn thing down and might save up for a proper extension. It seems to cost thousands to improve/renew anything on it, although the koala shade thing might be worth spending a few hundred on next summer. I do like sitting in there in the sun though.

If it’s just a cheap add on you really won’t heat it efficiently or effectively. It’s better to pull it down and start again. Build something useful. Put in rooflights for better light.

My kitchen is an oak framed orangery. It has glass on two sides and a big glass roof. 10 years ago it was £65,000 and has proper foundations. It has the most expensive glazing and underfloor heating. It’s fantastic but it’s a million miles away from a cheap add on you access via patio doors. So I’m afraid the only way to make this space work is to rebuild.

@PresentingPercy

If it’s just a cheap add on you really won’t heat it efficiently or effectively. It’s better to pull it down and start again. Build something useful. Put in rooflights for better light.

My kitchen is an oak framed orangery. It has glass on two sides and a big glass roof. 10 years ago it was £65,000 and has proper foundations. It has the most expensive glazing and underfloor heating. It’s fantastic but it’s a million miles away from a cheap add on you access via patio doors. So I’m afraid the only way to make this space work is to rebuild.

And if I can't afford that...? It's an expensive icebox on the end of the house!

if it isn't well-insulated, it's not really suited to winter use.

Shovel heat into it, and most of it goes straight out to warm the birds.

Consider that a modern house has 250mm of insulation in the loft, and the walls have two layers of brick with 50mm or more insulation between. Sheets of glass, or plastic roofing, just don't compare.

We had what you did @Misty9 . I just gave up with it as was either boiling hot or freezing cold. There seemed to be a few weeks in spring and autumn when it was ok. As @PigletJohn says, any additional heat will just flow straight through as it is unlikely to be high grade insulated glass.

Yes I did what another suggested...pulled the whole lot down and started again...fabulous extension which doubles as a sun room with kitchen in as well. But I appreciate that many people won't have the budget for that but it really is the only answer.

Oh...my neighbour has a conservatory and last month, yet again workmen were around trying to fix yet another leak. He is throwing in the towel and demolishing it

Just saw your reply about wanting to use it as a playroom in the evening. In that case I'd stick a rug on the floor in winter, and run an electric oil radiator in there as PP suggests. Stick it on a timer plug if its always e.g. 4-7 that you're using it.

2Kw column heater on full is approx 20p/hour, which 'll never get near the cost of a roof replacement (?5K)

All the heat will go out through the walls and roof. These poorly constructed conservatories are money pits. They have very limited use. Your DC will be cold in there in winter. You probably already know it’s pretty useless.

I’m afraid it is down to money. You either have an expensive conservatory with extrusive heating and insulation or you have a (probably cheaper) extension. Trying to heat a glass sub standard box will cost a lot.