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Insulation values

Retaining your valuable heat

winter imageMaking sure that your new conservatory is energy efficient and will retain valueable heat in the winter is an important consideration.

With the increasing costs of fuel it is important to examine the insulation value of your new conservatory to ensure your heat does not escape in the colder months of the year escalating your fuel costs.

Many existing conservatories are basic specification and are often too cold to use during the winter months with owners complaining that it is far too expensive to keep warm. This will usually be attributed to heat loss through the glass, frames and roof due to the low specification of the components used in the construction.

 

Energy Efficient Double Glazing Standard

Glass is the biggest issue here and it is important to ensure that your conservatory is glazed with a heat retaining glass such as Staycool energy efficient glazing to ensure that heat is reflected back into the conservatory and not allowed to transmit to the outside. If your new conservatory is glazed with standard air filled double glazed sealed units the cold ‘down draught' from the glass will make it very uncomfortable to sit anywhere close to the glass in the colder months of the year making the conservatory virtually off-limits for this period.

 

Building Regulations

Under current legislation, Building Regulations do not apply to conservatories of less than 30 sq metres in England and Wales. With no enforced insulation requirement most suppliers do not include any form of heat retaining glass simply because it keeps their costs down allowing them to market a cheaper product. However buying a cheap conservatory with standard double glazing is likely to cost you more money in the long term due to the increased heating costs generated as the heat escapes through the glass.

 

'U' Values

Although energy rated windows will become mandatory for new double glazing for your home conservatories are not subject to any enforced standard.  U values are the current form of measuring heat transfer of any product with the lowest U value having the best insulation value.

 

Energy Efficient Glazing

We have taken great care to ensure that our conservatories feature components that offer some of the lowest U values available in our industry making our product as efficient as possible at retaining your heat in the colder months of the year. Our Staycool solar control glazing offers a highly efficient conservatory glazing solution providing an exceptionally low 1.0 U value for glass roof conservatories whilst at the same time providing the best performing solar control glass currently available.

The following chart provides the U values for roof glazing materials.

 

Roof GlazingThickness U Value
Polycarbonate 16mm   2.4w m/2k
Polycarbonate 25mm   1.6w m/2k
Polycarbonate 35mm   1.5w m/2k
Clear Tripleshield Glass 24mm   1.2w m/2k
Staycool Aqua Green Solar Control Glass 24mm   1.0w m/2k
Celsius One Solar Control Glass 24mm   1.0w m/2k

 

All our conservatories feature your choice of Conservatory Roof Glass or Polycarbonate Roof.

The following chart provides the U values for conservatory windows and doors.

 

Window & Door GlazingThickness U Value
Clear Air Filled Double Glazing 28mm   2.4w m/2k
Clear Argon Filled K Glazing 28mm   1.7w m/2k
Clear Argon Filled Tripleshield Glazing 28mm   1.2w m/2k
Staycool Argon Filled Solar Control Glass 28mm   1.1w m/2k
Celsius Clear Solar Control Glass 28mm   1.0w m/2k

 

Our PREMIUM range of conservatories feature Staycool double glazing to the windows and doors ensuring your heat is retained in the winter but also protecting you and your furnishings from solar heat and UV light. EASYKIT conservatories feature Tripleshield double glazing as standard to the windows and doors with the option to upgrade to Celsius Clear solar control glass.

 

Reduce your heating costs in the winter

Insulation valuesIf you are buying a self build conservatory during the summer you will need to remember that you will also have to heat it during the winter to be able to use it all year round.

How you heat your new living space is a relatively easy decision but considering how efficient the conservatory will be in retaining your valuable heat is just as important. A low specification product may allow your expensive heat to escape through the structure making it very expensive to keep warm.

In a price driven market it is still very easy to buy a low specification cheap DIY conservatory with 16mm polycarbonate roof and standard air filled double glazing. These basic DIY conservatory kits appear to be bargains but their lack of energy efficient components mean that they will cost you more in the long term because your heat will transmit through the structure and glazing to the outside.

Adding a conservatory to your property will increase your living space but it is important to ensure that you will be able to use it throughout the year without dramatically increasing your fuel costs otherwise your new extension may prove unuseable in colder weather.

The energy efficiency of the product you buy now is very important as there is little you can do to improve the insulation value once the conservatory has been built.

Naturally, you will want the best value DIY conservatory you can find but beware of low specification products that will ultimately cost you more to heat in the long term.

Read more about climate control for conservatories.

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