By Trevor Stone

Conservatories were a must-have house inclusion back in the 19th century. Graceful and elaborate Victorian homes had metal and glass conservatories which were used for sipping afternoon teas and gazing at the night sky amidst exotic plants and flowers. Conservatories were useless during the cold winter months as there was no method to insulate a conservatory.

Conservatories have evolved. They are interchangeably called a sunroom, a solarium or a greenhouse. The old unyielding metal and glass conservatories are replaced by ultra-light yet durable framing enclosed with polycarbonate and/or uPVC materials. Of course there are portions still made of glass, tempered and UV resistant ones.

Conservatories have become an extension of indoor living. It now serves as a place to relax and entertain friends. It has become preferable to have a cool conservatory in the summer months and a toasty warm one during the colder months. There are several ways to insulate a conservatory – some expensive, others inexpensive.

Heating up a conservatory is quite a task. You can install an underfloor heating system or set up radiators in the room but all will be ineffective unless the conservatory is tightly sealed. Cooling the conservatory with split-type air-conditioner units will be useless too if there are holes and gaps to let hot air in and cool air out.

Here are some inexpensive yet quite effective ways to insulate an already-built conservatory.

Apply bubble wrap on the glass or polycarbonate roofing. Buy a roll of bubble wrap and cut into sizes to fit each roofing panel. Stick the bubble wrap on the inside pane making sure you cover the gaps and joints. You can opt to remove the bubble wrap in spring.

Fill the gaps, cracks and joints with caulk. This method will seal the joints on glass or polycarbonate panes to prevent heat loss. An easy to use caulking material is silicone sealant. They are sold in tubes and have accompanying ‘gun’ for the application.

There are various shades of tints that can be applied on the roof and windows much like the ones applied on car windows. However, you need a skilled professional for the application.

Why not buy an insulation kit from the hardware? The kit contains a plastic film that is applied to the roof or window panes. All you need to do is cut the film into the appropriate size, stick them to the panes, run a hot hair dryer to ‘shrink’ them perfectly into space.

Try attaching a corkboard on the ceiling. This will effectively seal the whole roof and effectively block your view of the night skies too. It is your choice – warm conservatory without the view or a freezing conservatory with a view.

Layered curtains are another option too. You can hang curtains by the tall window panes to seal them and keep the draught out.

Conservatory can be a whole-year round place to relax and entertain as long as they are effectively insulated. Find out more on how you can effectively insulate conservatories at affordable prices

About the Author: Conservatory can be a whole-year round place to relax and entertain as long as they are effectively insulated. Find out more on how you can effectively insulate conservatories at affordable prices.

Source: isnare.com

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