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Keeping conservatory warm
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tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

There are solar films that will do such a job, I'll see if I can find some links.

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

https://www.films4windows.co.uk/solar.htm

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

There may be other options, anyone?

Lozzie



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Excellent - except it says "Rejects up to 82% of solar energy". Wouldn't that make it dark? I wonder how it would affect the plants in there. I am off to find out more!

Thank you, Tahir.

Edited to add:

Found this:

https://www.lookit-up.com/sentryinserts1.html

and they are coming tomorrow evening so I will know more then!

Last edited by Lozzie on Mon Sep 19, 05 1:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

https://www.smartpoly.co.uk/

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lozzie wrote:
"Rejects up to 82% of solar energy". Wouldn't that make it dark?


We've got a solar film in our offices and it does make it darker

Bernie66



Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

How much would it cost to get an extra radiator in there compared with a 55% discount down to that price? If its on a thermostatic valve it can be regulated to whatever temperature you like. The radiator is not that expensive probably around £100-£150. The fitting cannot be too much.

Jb



Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Some greenhouses, such as Alton, have timber boards that can be attached round the base of the greenhouse to create a halfheight wall for use over winter, I wonder if you could create something like that just to give some extra ground level insulation.

Lozzie



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Bernie66 wrote:
How much would it cost to get an extra radiator in there compared with a 55% discount down to that price?I


This is a good idea too - but unfortunately our existing boiler is not strong enough to power it. Plus any heat that the rad generated would simply canish out of the roof, anyway - as it currently does with the oil-filled radiator we have in there. I have edited my previous post to talk about this:

https://www.lookit-up.com/sentryinserts1.html

Lozzie



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

JB wrote:
Some greenhouses, such as Alton, have timber boards that can be attached round the base of the greenhouse to create a halfheight wall for use over winter, I wonder if you could create something like that just to give some extra ground level insulation.


Thanks JB - I am going to investigate this too.

Jb



Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lozzie wrote:
JB wrote:
Some greenhouses, such as Alton, have timber boards that can be attached round the base of the greenhouse to create a halfheight wall for use over winter, I wonder if you could create something like that just to give some extra ground level insulation.


Thanks JB - I am going to investigate this too.


This is what I was thinking of.

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 05 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The classic "green" solution is to grow something like a vine - whose leaves will provide shade in summer and which can be pruned right back in winter. This can be grown inside or outside, depending on space and your liking for grapes!

A rather nice effect can be produced by loosely hanging a (white?) translucent, not opaque, cloth 'tent' inside the conservatory roof - this can be very classy with a cheesecloth-y rough weave... the trick is to find an open enough weave to let light through, yet closed enough to provide enough of a sun-screen.
If anyone asks, you can say you got the idea from the simple light diffuser in Frank Lloyd Wright's Circle Gallery. (Or blame me.)
It should look much prettier than most polycarbonate roofs that I have seen.

You might investigate a greenhouse automatic ventillator to further control temperature rise in summer.

You might look to hang a black (well, at least dark) curtain on the house wall of the conservatory to increase solar gain in winter. (Remove for summer or replace with a white one!) Same goes for floor covering...

It aint pretty, but bubblewrap makes a good insulator- bubbles against the inside of the glass/polycarbonate. Perhaps you could keep the 'tent' up in winter, to hide the bubblewrap on the roof (where I expect most of the heat loss will occur - just as with loft insulation!)

Fez



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 05 11:00 pm    Post subject: Heating a conservatory Reply with quote
    

How about sighting a tumble drier in there or just ducting all the hot damp air from one? You could then grow all manor of tropical plants, keep the place warm and reuse hot air that normally goes to heat the atmosphere up. Might have a condensation problem unles you could work out how to collect the water and recycle that as well.

Lozzie



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 05 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hi there Fez - weclome to Downsizer!

My tumble drier died and went to heaven about 4 years ago and I never replaced it. I do dry my clothes in there, on a rack. We have a de-humidifier in there in case it gets really tropical, but I am worried that the money I save on heating the greenhouse, I would be spending on running the tumble drier or dehumidifier instead.

Some chappie from a local company is coming to see us next week to talk about special inserts to go in the polycarbonate roof. I will report back!

Lozzie



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 05 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The inserts turned out to be impractical to fit and the film he showed us was also VERY expensive.

As the film was originally designed to keep heat OUT of the conservatory, the manufaturers were understandably reluctant to guess at how much heat the fil would allow the conservatory to RETAIN.

I think the answer for me, at this stage, woud be to curtain off the conservatory from the rest of the house and keep the French windows shut overnight, not opening them until the temperature out there more or less matches that inside the rest of the house.

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