How to Prepare Your Conservatory or Garden Room For Summer

As our summers continue to get warmer with every year passing, it's important to prepare your extension for the warmer seasons ahead. Learn more about how to prepare your garden room or conservatory.

A conservatory or garden room is a versatile addition to your house that can be enjoyed all year round, particularly in the Summer. To maximise use of a conservatory, homeowners should ensure it is both comfortable and functional; with temperatures in the Summer of 2010 soaring to above 30 degrees Celsius, it is more important than ever that a conservatory or garden room is a safe haven between the home and the outdoors – somewhere to be protected from the sun’s powerful rays but where the sunshine and light can still be optimised.

Before building a conservatory or garden room it is worth discussing practical considerations with an expert and this should include factoring in the room’s use, the location, shade and ventilation.

Choose How You’ll Use the Room Before You Build

First and most importantly, a homeowner should have a clear idea of the purpose of their conservatory, what activities will take place in the room and at what times of day. Is a computer to be used there? If so, it is essential that the sun’s rays do not shine in the eyes or on the screen. Is it used for morning or lunch time entertainment? For this, the room needs to stay airy and cool.

It is also key to consider who will be using the room: young children, adults, pets, etc – the more information the homeowner can feed to the designer the better the outcome will be.

What’s the Best Orientation and Location?

The location of a conservatory is paramount and can dramatically impact on the temperature in the room. A homeowner with a choice of locations available would do best to construct on a south-facing outer wall to attract more sunshine. For homeowners with a south-facing garden this is ideal and even in Winter it will not require as much heating as a garden room in a garden that is north-facing.

Shading Options: Window Film and Glazing

Shade is imperative to keep a south-facing conservatory cool and if you do not have the advantage of natural shade one solution is to apply high quality film to the windows. This works by not only reflecting the heat from the sun but also nearly all of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays – which is what causes the fading of furniture and carpets – therefore helping to keep your conservatory cool and your furnishings looking new.

In the Summer, ventilation is another essential consideration for keeping a conservatory/garden room cool. It is essential that air is able to flow through the building and that colder air can be drawn into the conservatory.

Five Ways to Keep a Conservatory or Garden Room Cool

The five main ways to keep a conservatory or garden room cool are as follows:

• Roof vents
• Extractor Fans
• Ceiling fans
• Air Conditioning
• Applied Film

With the summer fast approaching, any homeowner planning to install a conservatory or garden room would benefit from taking some time to prepare and think about the following four key areas: use, location, shade & ventilation.

If you’re looking to extend your home with a garden room, orangery, or conservatory, reach out to our team at Westbury to speak about your project. Alternatively, request our brochure to see how we work, what our previous projects look like, and what options could be available to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to keep a conservatory cool in the summer?

With a combination of shade and airflow, you can keep the conservatory cooler in the summer. Some ways to do this include:

• Apply solar or UV-reflective film to glazing.
• Fit roof vents.
• Add an extractor fan or ceiling fan.
• Install air conditioning.

Does window film actually work to keep a room cool?

Good quality film can reflect a large amount of the sun’s heat and block UV radiation. While it doesn’t replace ventilation on its own in a room that gets sun all day, it should noticeably reduce how hot the room usually gets.

Should a conservatory or garden room face south?

If you can choose the orientation of your extension, a south-facing one will get you the most sunlight, which can make the room naturally brighter and warmer. If you want a south-facing extension, you’ll need to plan ahead for shading and ventilation so the room can be properly regulated throughout the year.

What’s the best way to ventilate a conservatory in summer?

A roof vent is normally the most effective addition to help ventilate a conservatory, helping the air escape since it naturally moves upwards. Extractor fans can also help move the air out actively, and it can work well with a roof vent to keep the extension well-ventilated and less unbearable during summer.

Is air conditioning worth installing in a garden room?

It’s a very reliable option, especially if the room is used consistently throughout the summer. If the room isn’t used as often, then passive options like film, vents, and fans will be more suitable.