Most people when planning to buy a new conservatory will inevitably have a series of great plans for what it can be used for. Some will consider it as a new dinning room or as a second lounge, others may see it as a TV room whilst some might even see it as an office. Planning what your new conservatory is to be used for can be an exciting thing to do.
For many people, however, once their conservatory has been built the reality of what it is used for (and how often it is used) can be somewhat different. First consider the potential problems. Most people will, if possible, have their new conservatory situated on a south facing side of the house. Whilst this is often recommended to maximise the amount of daylight and sunlight that is available it also comes with a problem. South facing conservatories might let in a lot of sunlight but this can also make it very hot during the summer months. Often temperatures can reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius on very hot days! This in effect will render it effectively unusable.
Likewise, if not properly heated or insulated then during the winter months the conservatory might be too cold to use. Don’t forget that most of your conservatory is made of glass which is extremely poor at retaining heat. This will mean in effect that it becomes shut off from the rest of the house to prevent heat from escaping and thus making it in effect into a no-go zone. In turn this will mean that you might also suffer the problem of persistent condensation in your conservatory because of the lack of air flow.
Likewise, many people fail to take into account that if a conservatory has not got a slated roof then when it rains it can be extremely noisy.
All of these factors will mean that often you will not be tempted to go into your conservatory and sadly, then, the reality for many people is that they will tend only to use their conservatory on summer evenings for a couple of hours – a far cry from their original plans.
One big solution to the problem of the underuse of your new conservatory is to invest in an insulated ceiling and have attractive slate tiles installed on the roof. This will help combat the three big problems mentioned above. Firstly it will greatly reduce the noise of rainfall, which can sound particularly loud on the conventional polycarbonate roofs.
Secondly, it will store more heat during the winter if you have an efficient heating system, such as a radiator or under-floor heating, installed as well. In turn this will mean that the conservatory is used more than it ordinarily would be and thus will improve the air circulation, which in turn will help prevent condensation.
The third benefit of having a slated roof installed is that it will also help keep the conservatory cooler in the summer months. Sadly polycarbonate roofs are excellent conductors of heat which is one of the reasons that conservatories can get so hot in the summer months. A slated roof does not absorb anything like the same amount of heat as a polycarbonate roof and thus it will keep temperatures at far more manageable levels.
Buying a new conservatory is, for most people, a big financial outlay and something not to be taken lightly. This is why it is important to think seriously about its ultimate usability in advance. There is absolutely no reason why your conservatory cannot be used for whatever you want to use it for. Similarly there is also no reason why it cannot be used regularly all the year round. To achieve this however it is vital to consider the impact of summer heat and winter cold, as well as noise factors when buying.
It is strongly recommended that when looking for quotations for conservatories that you seek advice from as many reputable installers as possible for the best solutions to the problems mentioned above. If you do and act on this advice you can enjoy your conservatory far more than you perhaps otherwise have been able to do.
