Sunroom - condensation in the morning.

H

Hillsalt

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I added a sunroom to my house a few years ago. It's basically an extra room with glass on two sides (side and back) with two Velux windows. It has double glazing and a sliding patio door. I also got a radiator put in too. The room is a great addition to my home.

Last year, during the cold spell, it was chillier than the rest of the house. During the summer, I installed a pair of doubled curtains to divide the room thus making it easy to keep the kitchen/dining area warmer.

So far, we only close the curtains when we are going to bed and open them when we get up. When the weather gets colder, we will probably leave them closed all day.

This morning, the sliding door was soaking on the inside. This was half an hour after the central heating came on. There are no vents in the windows but there are vents on the Velux windows which are permanently closed.

Should I leave one of the Velux vents open? Or are the curtains a bad idea?
Any other suggestions?


Also, the dog sleeps in the sunroom. He is only there from when we go to bed until we get up. I'm not too sure if this is relevant.


Thanks in advance.

.
 
Condensation is the result when air has reached it's saturation point, i.e. it has reached the maximum moisture content ratio. It will always condense initially on the coldest surface, such as external glazing, etc. The warmer the air, the higher the saturation point. At normal temperatures, the saturation point is approx 65%, however if you heat the air this will increase to approx 75%.

Your conservatory is cold and therefore has a low saturation point. You either heat the space to increase the saturation point or you ventilate to reduce the amount of moisture held within that space. It's that simple!

It is also a very negative point for conservatories, they are either too hot in summer to use and too cold in winter. The glazing is a major heat loss in your home.
 
Lack of ventilation plus warm air hitting the relatively cold windows will produce condensation. This will be exacerbatedby the dog sleeping in there.
 
BillK said:
This will be exacerbatedby the dog sleeping in there.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the dog, lol, but a human produces through their breath 1 litre of moisture over an 8 hour period into the air. This is why ventilation in bedrooms is so important. 2 people sleeping 8 hours = 2 litres of moisture which equals condensation on windows. I usually gaffer tape the wife's mouth to reduce this (I really hope she does not see this!!!)
 
Okay!
I am hitting the sack in a few minutes. The dog is snoring. I opened one of the vents on the Velux.

I forgot to mention that all of the windows have venetian blinds which are closed at night time. We rarely drop the blinds that cover the sliding door because the door is used frequently during the day.
 

brilliant
 
WindUp,

Does your wife have an email address that I can forward your reply to?
 
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