Conservatory Insulation [An Ultimate Guide]

Refurbishing an old conservatory is something that most people think about before they do it. The urge to restore a vintage conservatory generally surpasses all other elements of the structure.

Aside from completely changing the appearance of an old conservatory, the primary goal for the renovation is usually to improve the conservatory’s efficiency and effectiveness in withstanding heat and cold.

The most frequent problem with outdated conservatories is that they are unable to withstand harsh weather conditions. They allow heat and cold in quickly, making it impossible to relax in your conservatory.

The purpose of conservatory insulation is to provide a protective covering for older conservatories in order to make them more efficient. Insulating an old conservatory must go beyond the aesthetic work. It should focus on ensuring that the building is waterproof.

A well-insulated conservatory should be able to keep a house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. All year, conservatory insulation maintains a consistent temperature for your home, protecting it from harsh weather conditions.

Insulating a Conservatory Roof

Insulating a conservatory roof is not difficult. It may be pricey, but it’s well worth it.

Conservatory Insulation

Because it can be either too chilly in the winter or too warm in the summer, most homeowners give up keeping their conservatories. It might be a pain to live with. Whatever you need to do to enable you to use your conservatory all year round is definitely worth it.

Insulating your conservatory roof may provide you with the comfort you want, but many homeowners have expressed concerns about the aesthetic value of insulation.

Fortunately, you can choose from a wide range of conservatory roofs that offer the same level of insulating performance offered by standard glass roofs, but feature alternative materials with better aesthetics.

Concrete Tiles

The most common form of conservatory roofing is the traditional concrete tiles that are usually painted in white or light grey. The reason for this is that they are readily available and relatively inexpensive.

Unfortunately, these roofs are not very good at insulating against heat or cold. They create a warm conservatory in the winter and a cool one in the summer.

There are more modern tiles available now that provide better insulation properties than the older concrete tiles without compromising their appearance. They may cost you more, but at least the money will not be wasted on an aesthetically displeasing roofing material.

Corrugated Tiles

A newer roof alternative available in shops is corrugated tiles. These roofs are more expensive than standard concrete tiles but they’re worth it for some homeowners.

Conservatory Insulation

Corrugated tile roofs are not only attractive but are also good at handling heat resistance.

Metal Roofing

Other alternatives include metal roofs, which are also expensive but may be worth the price. They offer exceptional insulation properties and look great on old buildings. However, this type of roof is very expensive to install and requires a lot of maintenance over time.

Insulating a Conservatory Walls

Insulating conservatory walls is essential for keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It will also prevent heat loss from your home, which means that you’ll save on energy costs and enjoy more comfortable temperatures throughout the year.

The most effective insulation material for conservatories is polyurethane foam insulation. This type of insulation is a high-performance product that offers exceptional thermal resistance and strong insulation properties.

Polyurethane foam can be easily cut to specific shapes so it’s possible to insulate awkward conservatory spaces such as the undersides of overhangs or below sills. In other words, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you can fit polyurethane insulation in your conservatory.

If polyurethane is unavailable, there are other good alternatives available from home improvement shops. Just be sure to ask which type of insulation is best suited for use on a conservatory roof and what the installation process involves.

Insulating a Conservatory Floor

Insulating your conservatory floor is not quite as simple as insulating its roof or walls. However, it will still do a lot to keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Conservatory Insulation

The best material for insulating a conservatory floor is brick-paved tiles instead of laminated wood decking. Tiles are sometimes fitted with polystyrene insulation under the surface to improve their insulation properties.

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If you want to insulate your flooring with brick-paved tiles, just be sure that the material is thick enough not only for strength but also for keeping out cold air.

It’s important to keep in mind that insulating your conservatory will require a lot of preparation to ensure a successful installation. Consult an expert to ensure that your conservatory is fitted with the best insulation available for both aesthetics and thermal resistance.

  1. Conservatories are very good as greenhouses as they provide extra heat from sunlight to plants etc. They can be used for growing vegetables in places where there could never grow vegetables before. But they are horrible at insulating against heat and cold.
  2. Corrugated tiles can be a very good alternative as they offer great insulation properties, but they cost more than the standard concrete tiles.
  3. Metal roofs provide exceptional insulation properties and look great on old buildings, but it’s expensive to install and requires a lot of maintenance.
  4. Polyurethane foam insulation is a high-performance product that offers exceptional thermal resistance and strong insulation properties. It’s possible to insulate awkward conservatory spaces such as the undersides of overhangs or below sills.
  5. Insulating your conservatory floor is not quite as simple as insulating its roof or walls. Brick-paved tiles insulate better than laminated wood decking. Polystyrene insulation can be used under the surface to improve their insulation properties.
  6. Conservatories are very good as greenhouses as they provide extra heat from sunlight to plants etc. They can be used for growing vegetables in places where there could never grow vegetables before. But they are horrible at insulating against heat and cold.
  7. Corrugated tiles can be a very good alternative as they offer great insulation properties, but they cost more than the standard concrete tiles.

Pros and Cons of Clip in Insulated Panels for Conservatory

Clip-in insulated panels help keep heat from escaping into the conservatory. They’re also designed to redirect direct light reflection away from your conservatory.

As with polyurethane foam insulation, they’re a high-performance product that offers exceptional thermal resistance and strong insulation properties

Conservatory Insulation

They can be easily installed with minimal fuss as you only have to install clips on the inside of your conservatory walls to attach them from place to place. This is great if you’ve been trying to find a way to de-clutter your conservatory, or if you’ve just moved into a new home with an old derelict conservatory.

Clip-in insulated panels have several advantages, as seen in the list below:

  • The installation process of hooks in insulated panels is very swift.
  • The panels are not heavyweight.
  • Aesthetically, the interior looks pretty good.
  • No drilling process is required to carry out the installation.

On the flip side, clip-in insulation panels also have a number of disadvantages, including:

  • The cost of purchasing and installing is high.
  • They are not the best when it comes to conserving energy.
  • There is no unique ability to protect against vapour.
  • Only a tightly fitted clip can guarantee good insulation.

It is not exactly correct to claim that clip-in insulated panels are the best conservatory roof insulation on the market because of their advantages and drawbacks.

A more efficient and preferred insulation material used by most homeowners is multi-foil insulation.

Pros and Cons of Multi-foil insulation

Multi-foil insulation has the best ability to reflect heat and cold, especially when compared with clips in panels or tiles.

Conservatory Insulation

This type of insulation is perfect for conservatories because it won’t add any weight on your roof structure. Plus, such an insulation system will provide you with a wide range of benefits:

  • Improved thermal isolation,
  • Improved sound reduction,
  • Guarantees efficient and effective insulation,
  • Suitable for all seasons,
  • Easy to install,
  • Total protection to the roof of your conservatory,
  • Provides multiple layers of insulation.

Multi-foil insulation has a number of advantages over clip-in insulated panels and is generally preferred by most homeowners.

However, it does have its cons too:

  • It is quite expensive to install.
  • Requires an experienced installer for the DIY version
  • It is not suited to all conservatory roof shapes and sizes, since it’s specially designed only for the most common designs.

Conservatory insulation comes in two broad categories – using a material that is inserted in the conservatory and using a material that seals the conservatory from outside elements.

Using an insulating material inside of your conservatory has its advantages because it provides better insulation with less weight than external insulation does.

But there are downsides, as well. The installation process can be messy and lengthy if you don’t know what you’re doing. It can also be slightly more expensive than external insulation methods.

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Ways to Insulate your Conservatory for all Seasons

Installing a conservatory in your home is a fantastic idea. It’s the ideal location to unwind and read or meditate in peace. If you have a glass or polycarbonate conservatory, you’ll most likely want to gaze at the sky all day long.

It’s also a lovely spot to gather with family or friends for breakfast or supper.

Conservatory Insulation

Unfortunately, a conservatory may be unpleasant at certain times of the year, limiting you to enjoy its benefits for only a few weeks each year. Many people decide not to use their conservatory for the colder and sunnier months because they don’t want it to be too cold or too hot in the area

So, how do you make your conservatory suitable all year round? There are a number of insulation methods that can be used, such as:

Insulated Curtains

Insulating Curtains are a great way to insulate your conservatory. The curtains are designed with insulating material, which is also covered with water-resistant PVC on one side.

They are very easy to install – you simply need to hang the curtain across the frame of your window, basically closing up all open areas.

Insulated curtains for conservatories are available in a wide range of styles and designs, so you can find one that matches your conservatory’s existing décor.

They offer many benefits

  • Provides thermal insulation
  • Blocks sunlight from entering into the room (you may want to install dark-coloured curtains)
  • Helps preserve the temperature inside your conservatory all year round,
  • Reduces heating and lighting costs.

The only drawback of using insulated curtains is that they can be a little tricky to clean and maintain. They also don’t work for certain types of window designs.

Window Film Insulation

Window films are essentially transparent films that protect the surface of your windows and doors from harmful UV rays from the sun. They are usually made from polyethene, PVC or PET film.

Conservatory Insulation

Window films can be quickly applied to glass, acrylic and polycarbonate surfaces, making them a great choice if you want an easy solution for insulation

They also have many benefits:

  • Window films are not expensive,
  • Provide an effective no-fuss insulation solution,
  • Offer a variety of different designs and types suitable for all conservatory roof shapes and sizes.

The only drawback of window film insulation is that it can appear unsightly from the outside if you have a clear glass conservatory. If this is the case, you might be better off using insulated curtains instead.

Changing the roof

Replacing a polycarbonate or glass roof with a solid roof provides a long-term solution to the issue of insulation. A solid roof maintains a constant temperature in the conservatory without causing any additional condensation.

It doesn’t allow much light into the room, but this can be fixed by installing a glass roof which lets in sunlight.

However, changing the conservatory’s roof is often a very costly operation and it can completely change your conservatory’s appearance to look more like a building extension rather than a garden feature.

Changing to a solid roof also reduces the lighting, which may be a problem if you have a garden view from your conservatory.

External Insulation

Unlike internal insulation methods, external insulation involves covering the outside of your conservatory with insulating materials such as cotton wool or glass fibre to help reduce heat loss and control condensation.

Insulating the outside of your conservatory is a long-term solution that takes time to produce results. However, it’s the most effective insulation method out of all three.

Conservatory Insulation

It works well for conservatories with plastic roofs, but may not be ideal for polycarbonate or glass roof for obvious reasons

However, external insulation is often limited by design and it can affect your conservatory’s appearance.

Thermal Paint

While most heat escapes through the conservatory wall, thermal wall paint has a good track record of retaining heat within the room. It is generally acknowledged that most heat loss occurs via the conservatory wall because it’s the only one exposed to all 4 seasons.

Thermal wall paint can help reduce heat loss through your conservatory walls, which means you won’t have to turn the heating on quite as much or even at all.

Strengths

  • Paint is very easy to apply,
  • It’s generally inexpensive compared with other insulation methods,
  • It can be easily painted on to your conservatory wall.

The only drawback of using paint for insulation is that it’s not recommended for use on aluminium or UPVC surfaces due to its corrosive nature. It may also need more than one coat depending on the thickness of the existing paint and the overall standard of insulation required.

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Bearing this in mind, the use of thermal paints is an excellent option to try.

Multi-foil insulation

The R-value of a material is the degree to which it resists heat flow. Multi-foil insulation provides complete coverage from the sun’s rays. If you still feel too hot within your conservatory after multi-foil insulation, focus on wall insulation instead.

Conservatory Insulation

Strengths

  • Thermal insulation is very effective, especially when used with multi-foil insulation,
  • It’s affordable and it has the potential to improve the overall heating efficiency of your conservatory.

The downside of using multi-foil insulation is that it can be difficult to work with. When it comes to aesthetics, multi-foil insulation is also unattractive and it may obstruct your view from the conservatory.

Cost of Insulating a Conservatory Roof

The majority of homeowners who have conservatories are already familiar with the most significant issue they face. The primary difficulty faced by homeowners who have conservatories is the lack of insulation.

This can be a major problem when the temperature plunges at night or during the colder winter months.

The cost of insulation for a conservatory roof is determined on the sort of insulation chosen. Some homeowners will want a new roof put in, while others would rather replace their old roofs or have Insulation material added to them.

Conservatory insulation can cost anywhere from £1,000 upwards depending on how big your conservatory is.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective alternative to replacing your conservatory with an insulated one, you can always consider adding insulation by yourself (DIY), this will set you back anywhere from around £100-£200; it’s also much more environmentally friendly than hiring professionals.

Conservatory Insulation

Conservatories are no longer an exclusively British garden feature and only proper insulation can help to ensure that the conservatory is comfortable throughout the year.

Conservatories without insulation can be quite costly to keep warm during winter, which means you’ll have to turn your thermostat up and start spending more money on energy bills.

If you wish to make significant savings on your energy bills, you should start by insulating your conservatory.

There are a number of ways in which you can achieve insulation. However, it’s important to note that some methods may prove more effective than others depending on the size and design of your conservatory.

You can choose to insulate your conservatory walls, floor or ceiling. Each of these options has its own pros and cons, so it’s important that you fully understand each one before you make your final decision. 

Things to Consider Before Owning a Conservatory

Conservatories are a beautiful addition to a home; they have a way of bringing the beauty of nature inside your home. A conservatory can provide you with a more expansive living space that can be used all year round

Conservatory Insulation

Conservatories are excellent additions to any home, but they do come with their own set of problems. Conservatories are not insulated very well and this contributes to the loss of heat quickly during the winter months. A lack of insulation means high heating bills throughout the year.

Conservatories are not very well insulated; it can be difficult to heat them up during cold winter nights, which means that you’ll have to turn your thermostat up and start spending more money on energy bills.

If you’re considering having a conservatory installed, you should first consider the cost of insulation. Some other points worth noting;

  1. Conservatories might be expensive to maintain, especially if you only want one for its aesthetic appeal.
  2. It can be difficult to heat up a conservatory during the winter months, which means you’ll have to turn your thermostat up and start spending more money on energy bills. Insulation is important in conservatories because it’s necessary for keeping heat in year round.
  3. Conservatories require a lot of energy and effort to heat up, but they’re popular as they’re aesthetically pleasing.
  4. Fortunately, a conservatory does not need planning permission to be built in the UK.
  5. The installation of a new conservatory can also increase the value of your property, which means you’ll be able to get more money when it’s time for you to sell your house.

Taking these things into account, you’ll have a better understanding of what it takes to run a conservatory and how to maintain it. Conservatories are impressive additions to houses, but it can be difficult for them to retain heat.

Final Thoughts

Conservatories are becoming increasingly popular across the UK, although conservatories without insulation can be very costly to keep warm during winter months, so you’ll have to turn your thermostat up and start spending more money on energy bills.

Insulation is important in conservatories because it’s necessary for keeping the heat year-round. Insulated conservatories not only help you stay warm but help your energy bills and make sure everything is as efficient as possible.

If you’ve been considering a conservatory, make sure to shop around for a company that offers insulation with your purchase. You can often save up to 25% or more on your energy bills just by installing insulation.