Sunroom with glass roof

Hi, We are building a house and have plans for a sunroom with a glass roof, i.e. all glass all around . Does anybody out there have one? We have been driving around the countryside and as yet have yet to see a sunroom with a glass roof (as opposed to a normal roof with velux windows). It doesnt appear to be very common. Also if you do have one, can you comment on the extremes of temperatures experienced? We have heard that it can be absolutely roasting in summer and freezing in the winter. ? Thanks for any posts in advance

A sunroom can be an important element in using ambient energy to heat your home in accordance with the latest requirements of Part L on Dwellings.
The issues affecting the thermal design of a house are so complex that you cannot do it on a "suck it and see" basis.
Can I strongly advise you to consult a building professional, preferably an architect, to get some good advice.

If you're only starting out, the Self-Build FAQ may be useful:
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=126261

If you are unsure of how to deal with a building professional, this key post may help:
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=131450

In relation to compliance with the building regulations, here are the Technical Guidance Documents [the TGD's] on the Environment Website:
http://www.environ.ie/en/TGD/

Here is the listing for Part L for dwellings.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,19069,en.pdf

There are a lot of factors to consider in terms of:

1. siting
2. blinds
3. glazing
4. materials
5. screening
6. overhangs
7. thermal mass storage
8. distribution of stored heat
9. insulation type and positioning
10. mechanical/passive ventilation and heat recovery
11. full heating, cooling and humidity control - air conditioning.

Item 11 is not a requirement of the Building Regulations yet.
However, summers are able to reach 30 degrees in Ireland - especially in the midlands.
With insulation requirements in houses getting higher all the time, some houses that use their glazing to attract ambient heat sources could well end up overheating in the summer.

My best advice is to take a common sense approach to the design, get this right with your architect as far as you can to suit your needs and desires, then have this assessed by a BER assessor.
If you're not using any building professional - and your house design fails to meet requirements or causes problems down the line - you will have only yourself to blame.

Let the BER assessments guide, but not dictate the design of your home - that could be a route to disaster, ending up with an unimaginative design.
Be mindful of the issues a BER assessment reveals - good practice design will assess these issues and resolve them to best advantage.
Proceeding without assessing these issues or resolving them would be folly at best and could cost serious money at worst.

However a single element like a sun room does not make a house.
Your life needs now and family needs later must be addressed.
This is probably the single biggest investment you will make.

Do it right the first time and it will reward you.



ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.

Would it effectively be a conservatory if it's glass all round and a glass roof?

My parents have one and I can confirm that it does get absolutely roasting during any sunny spell (handy if you can open up doors and let heat spread to other areas of the house) and freezing cold during the winter - they have a small electric heater to take the chill out.

I have a sun room myself that has a solid roof with a couple of velux windows. Can recommend this approach as the room is comfortable all year round.

I had one built in my previous house and I can vouch for the fact that it was absolutely roasting in summer. So hot you couldn't sit in it. Freezing in winter. It was a bit of a waste of a room really as I very rarely used it for these reasons.

I have moved house, and if I did decide to extend, it would be an extension with a conventional roof rather than glass.

I'd guess it depends what you want to use the room for - do you want it as an extra room 'cos you're short of space or do you want an extension of the garden, so it would primarily used in the summer.

My friend changed to a solid roof as it was freezing & noisy in winter, also the constant build up of dirt annoyed her. Summer wasn't too bad as she has kids so the doors were constantly open.

Down side of the roof is that her kitchen/dining area are really dark now, but the house has a more constant temperature.

My dad had one. Same experience as the posters above - roasting in any tpe of sun, freezing without sun. They spent a huge amount of money replacing the glass to some fancy triple glaze stuff with special gas in it that was supposed to insulate brilliantly so on sunny days it kept is it cooler, darker days kept it warmer. Result? It was still roasting on sunny summer days and freezing in winter. They have knocked it down now. The only answer is solid roof with Velux. Dont ignore the advice - you wont find many people that get any use out of conservatories on a year round basis.

Part of the reason for the original popularity of conservatories is that they perform a useful "second skin" function if properly designed to do so, but few are and there are fire spread issues depending on the details.
Detailed correctly, this isn't an issue and the house can generate heat and a warm air envelope most of the year.

They were building like this in the American backwoods years ago, using ducting and thermal mass stores to help ventilate the building naturally and maintain 17-20 degrees all year around with skillfully placed windows and insulation.
Passivehaus is only now leading us to rediscover these skills in Europe.

While I respect those of you who subscribe to the sloping roof with velux rooflight solution, we have recently designed an extension which had neither a sloping roof nor a velux but had comparable amenity and excellent light.
At the risk of sounding like Pseud's Corner, its a matter of choosing not to maximise area and understanding that there need to be serviced and served areas, rooms and courtyards, features and places that you can hide things in.
In other work we researched before we designed the extension, we found solutions that allowed deep penetration of light in a manner that avoided the "black hole" effects many extensions cause, even with velux.

There are probably many other solutions out there which address the shortcomings of conservatories, and more usable ways of designing houses than just adding on boxes which seldom get used.
But people building on a budget can fail to see the need to retain a good designer to help then achieve their dreams and this is very sad, given the modest fees involved in doing good work.

FWIW

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.