Why your conservatory could be leaving you out in the cold

With the UK still in the grip of a housing market slump and the cold snap biting hard, it seems that homeowners are increasingly looking to transform their homes into cosy and inviting places that they can relax in.

And with 11 out of 13 regions experiencing falling house prices in 2012, spending money on improving a home is set to increase as an ever growing trend in the UK as we move into a new year.

One of the most popular ways to improve the space and value of a home is to add a conservatory. A conservatory creates an extra room and can help to give a home a whole new identity. In fact, this key renovation is also one of the top 10 that a homeowner can make in a bid to increase the value of their property.

Statistics tell us that there are a whopping four million homes with conservatories in the UK. However, many of these conservatories may be out of use, and this is because those Brits who currently have a conservatory seem to find that it can be an uninviting and out of use space in the winter months. The culprit is likely to be the existing plastic polycarbonate roof which is renowned for being very poor at regulating heat, meaning conservatories can be too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.

Plastic polycarbonate roofing creates other problems that inhibit the comfort of a conservatory. Although plastic polycarbonate roofs for conservatories are light, low cost and durable, they do themselves no favours when it comes to staying clean or reducing noise caused by rain. With the British weather being inherently unpredictable, it would be reassuring to know that the conservatory was a comfortable place to be come rain or shine.

The conservatory industry has had somewhat of a makeover itself in recent years, with advancements in technology meaning that there are solutions to the issues apparent with plastic polycarbonate roofs that won’t cost the earth.

Some homeowners may choose to fit extra insulation to their plastic conservatory roof in a bid to tackle the issues with their plastic roof. However, although additional insulation may be relatively easy to put in place, it usually means that the roof of the conservatory is tiled over and a lot of light could be lost as a result.

A further solution that has just been launched by companies such as Refresh Glass Roofs could be to simply fit a replacement glass roof on the conservatory. Installation of a new glass roof can be done in just one to two days, and simply sees the new glass roof fitted directly onto the existing conservatory window frame.

Typically, this could cost half of what it would you purchase a brand new glass conservatory, meaning money saved could be spent on other projects around the home. The inherent nature of glass also means that it is 3.5 times more effective at reflecting away heat and keeping the space warm in the summer, whilst in the winter it is 58% more thermally efficient keeping homeowners warm inside even if there is a cold snap outside!

Conservatories have always been a sought after, tranquil space to entertain or relax in, and thanks to new solutions such as replacement conservatory roofs and even roof insulation systems, homeowners will find that for a lot less than first thought, they can use this space all year round.