Extra radiator

[Stuprocter]

Thanks for all the info and ianmcd I do appreciate all the advice given.and at the end of it to decide which I think is the most relevant Stuart

 

[muggles]

Does it not only need an independent heat system with separate controls if you want the entire conservatory free from building regs i.e if the radiator is connected to the main house the conservatory has to be notified, if its separate no notification is required?

Correct - if the conservatory complies with Part L of the Building Regulations (IE the total glazed area is less than 25% of the total floor area) then it can have a radiator in it which is connected to the main heating system. If the glazed area is between 25-50% of the total floor area, special thermal glass is needed and calculations need to be completed to demonstrate that the conservatory's U-value is below the permitted maximum in Part L for an extension, as that's what it would be classed as. Above 50% it doesn't comply and you can't put a radiator in there.

 

[Stuprocter]

Does the roof of the conservatory come into that equation

 

[muggles]

Yes it does @Stuprocter - the total glazed area of roof+walls must be less than 25% of the total floor area for it to comply with regs

 

[Stuprocter]

Bit confused there as wouldn't that rule out all conservatory''s As the roof size alone would be equeal to 100% of the total floor space

 

[muggles]

Yes, it does, which is why radiators in conservatories aren't permitted - conservatories don't comply with Building Regulations, and are exempt from doing so provided certain other conditions are met. You can't extend the house's heating system into a non-compliant structure, it must be a totally independent heat source

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Fookin Part L building regs b*llox. Nobody gives a flying Fook.

Seeing as you need to run pipes back to main F&R in loft..... it would be no stress to fit an M/V.

Precisely. Not for safety or technical reasons - just a daft tree-hugger law. Same reason we're now stuck with vacuum cleaners with less sucking power than my ex. I put two rads in my sister's conservatory. What are our masters going to do about it?

 

[muggles]

Precisely. Not for safety or technical reasons - just a daft tree-hugger law. Same reason we're now stuck with vacuum cleaners with less sucking power than my ex. I put two rads in my sister's conservatory. What are our masters going to do about it?

It's true that there are no Building Regs police...until you come to sell your house and an EPC is carried out, at which point they can make you remove the non-compliant radiators

 

[Nintendofan]

It's true that there are no Building Regs police...until you come to sell your house and an EPC is carried out, at which point they can make you remove the non-compliant radiators

would they not just ask for indemnity insurance as it couldn't be proved when the 'structure' was built anyway

 

[Stuprocter]

I have no thought of moving house.but would put service valves on pipework inside house and just remove radiator if I was planning to move .I still don't understand the reason for this rule.if it is due to heat loss surely if I put electric heaters in there there would still be the same heat loss

 

[muggles]

The theory behind the rule is that people are more likely to just leave radiators in conservatories turned on with the rest of the heating system, unnecessarily warming up the world and increasing carbon emissions, whereas a dedicated system for the space will only be used for the time that it's occupied, then turned off again. Whether this happens in practise or not is a different matter!