5 tips to keep your UPVC conservatory cooler in Summer

5 simple ways, that won’t break the bank, to cool down your UPVC Conservatory

One of the most often repeated moans about UPVC conservatories is that during the summer they get so hot it’s totally uncomfortable to use the room.

Given that most residential conservatories consist of around 70% glass sides with a polycarbonate roof, this should not be a totally unexpected situation.

If you have inherited an older UPVC conservatory, or overlooked this potential issue when you bought your conservatory, here are 5 simple ways to cool down your conservatory – and they won’t cost a small fortune.

What to do for a cooler low cost conservatory?

1 Ventilation – get some fresh air in the room

Blindingly obvious you would think, but not everybody is happy with having all the windows open, especially at night – it could leave you vulnerable to an opportunist intruder of some sort.

However, if you have fairly new double glazed windows fitted to your conservatory, then there should be a partial open position or “night latch”.

This generally fixes the window open by a gap of around 1 inch (25mm). With key lockable handles, this keeps the window from being opened fully (you will need to have a window with multipoint locks for this feature. Or you could manually attach a night latch.

Open windows on opposite sides of the room to get an air flow going.

If you have a roof vent, this should be opened. As hot air rises, this vent will dissipate a lot of hot air out of the room.

2 Fans – using a fan to circulate air will make the room feel cooler.

You could have an electric ceiling fan fitted – you can find them from around £40 on amazon, and that includes lights built in. Of course you have to allow for fitting costs on top.

If you don’t fancy fitting a ceiling fan, how about a portable air cooler? They are not full blown Air Con units, but rely on ice cubes to create a cooling flow of air. You can also find these on Amazon from as little as £20 to £25.

For those who want to solve the issue once and for all time, and you have about £400 to £500 to spare, then go for a proper air conditioning unit (Split AC). Appliancesdirect.co.uk have split AC’s from around £430 – fitting is extra of course, so I would budget for at least £600 to £700.

3 Tinted Windows – solar films for your glass

You must have seen those celebrities rolling around in their flash cars with tinted windows, well, you can do the same with your conservatory.

We are not talking about blacking out the whole room, but you can readily find solar reflective films that can cut down Solar Heat by up to 80%, Solar Glare by up to 88% and UV by up to 99%.

If you have a polycarbonate or glass roofed upvc conservatory, just filming that will make a huge difference to heat build-up.

A 600mm x 2000mm sheet would cost around £15 to £16 from Amazon and you can fit is yourself. Professional installation of high end product like 3M™ Window Films would cost a lot more.

4 Conservatory Blinds

Day / Night Vision Blinds. Hudson blinds.co.uk

Obviously, the more direct sunlight that comes into the conservatory, the hotter it will get. So cutting down on this will reduce heat build-up. It also comes with the added benefit of preventing the sun from fading your furniture & fittings.

There are loads of places from where to get blinds – you can even get “no drill blinds” if you are not the DIY expert and don’t want to get them professionally fitted.

Prices vary a lot and, as you would expect, using a branded supplier to supply and install is going to be the costlier option.

Personally, I prefer vertical blinds, but each to his or her own (read more about blinds here)

5 Use light colours

Dark walls, floors, fixtures and fittings absorb heat, light colours reflect it much better.

A cost of paint can fix the walls. Dark floors can be covered by a rug or two. Dark sofas (especially leather which gets hot a lot) can be treated to a nice light coloured “throw or two”.

Making the room décor brighter inside can help reduce the heat overall heat build-up.

In closing

No matter what you do, you may not be able to turn your existing conservatory into an ice cold summer Igloo. But whether you use some, or all, of the tips above, we can assure you that it will make a difference.

If you are about to embark on getting a new upvc conservatory, then consider the following:

• Lightweight tiled roofing
• Low-e energy saving glass
• 28mm sealed double glazed units
• Argon Gas filled double glazing
• Self-cleaning solar glass for the roof (Pilkington)

All of these optional features help to keep your conservatory cooler in summer & warmer in winter.