Adding solar inserts to roof of a hot conservatory - a makeover.

[TwoBrowndogs]

Hi,
As I’m am a newbie with one post asking for information I thought I’d post a second to give back

We have an old (3.6M x 3.6 M , maybe 25 years) hardwood conservatory on a south face. Roof is a polycarbonate twin wall and gets so hot in summer that it’s unusable. Being of dark wood too looks gloomy on inside. Ideally I’d like to take it down and do something else but can’t afford to for next 5/6 years.

So, a makeover (hopefully not DIY SOS). New fitted blinds, wow completely different but still hot though (if you’re interested these were fitted cheaper than any national franchise too). I stumbled across solar infills. A bit of flat foil you “easily” slide up each cavity with a stick, lube, hope and patience.

I accidentally came across a “rigid” version and two days later, I have several rolls of the stuff. It’s on a roll flat but with a folded shoulder .. just open it out and it’s rigid. So, removed “F” cap and old tape to get at end of panels and so far half completed. Not the most exciting thing in life .. but not as difficult as I thought.

Apparently it should be less hot in summer and during the winter hold more heat in (not that we bother with any heat in there). To be honest, the bit I’ve done so far is where the high sun would pour in and may be my imagination but seemed better already.

I was quoted by one company £1200 to do this work (think that was the cheaper flat foil and stick method) the material retail was about £200. My “rigid” kit is £300 (not sure if I’m paying more because it’s a rigid .. but I’m ok with that).

This is the stuff I used http://www.hotconservatory.com/solar-inserts-conservatory-polycarbonate-roofs.php .. hope that’s not against any rules. I actually thought I was going to be inundated with cold calls for the rest of my life. If you scan to the bottom there is a real phone number. David gave me his mobile phone number, was helpful and I’ve not has any cold calls

Some pics, inside:

still more to do .. ready to trim

.. and the stuff.

Hope it helps somebody and I'll report back when all done.

Regards

Paul

 

[JBR]

That looks very interesting. However in my case, although two of the four sides are external, the other two sides are adjacent to the house roof and the only way I'd be able to insert these things would be to remove the polycarbonate panels, making the job a lot more difficult and time-consuming. Not impossible, though, so I'll have to give it some thought.

 

[ajstoneservices]

You could use a Solar film.

 

[TwoBrowndogs]

Definitely cooler. No idea by how much but with the recent heat we have had is almost bearable without windows open. Now we can open Doors and sit in there. No idea if there are better ways (without new roof) but it seems to work for me.


What I did notice though was as I was working the panel without it installed was much cooler than the owns with .. by a lot.

 

[Stacey.90]

Hi,
As I’m am a newbie with one post asking for information I thought I’d post a second to give back

We have an old (3.6M x 3.6 M , maybe 25 years) hardwood conservatory on a south face. Roof is a polycarbonate twin wall and gets so hot in summer that it’s unusable. Being of dark wood too looks gloomy on inside. Ideally I’d like to take it down and do something else but can’t afford to for next 5/6 years.

So, a makeover (hopefully not DIY SOS). New fitted blinds, wow completely different but still hot though (if you’re interested these were fitted cheaper than any national franchise too). I stumbled across solar infills. A bit of flat foil you “easily” slide up each cavity with a stick, lube, hope and patience.

I accidentally came across a “rigid” version and two days later, I have several rolls of the stuff. It’s on a roll flat but with a folded shoulder .. just open it out and it’s rigid. So, removed “F” cap and old tape to get at end of panels and so far half completed. Not the most exciting thing in life .. but not as difficult as I thought.

Apparently it should be less hot in summer and during the winter hold more heat in (not that we bother with any heat in there). To be honest, the bit I’ve done so far is where the high sun would pour in and may be my imagination but seemed better already.

I was quoted by one company £1200 to do this work (think that was the cheaper flat foil and stick method) the material retail was about £200. My “rigid” kit is £300 (not sure if I’m paying more because it’s a rigid .. but I’m ok with that).

This is the stuff I used conservatory-polycarbonate- .. hope that’s not against any rules. I actually thought I was going to be inundated with cold calls for the rest of my life. If you scan to the bottom there is a real phone number. David gave me his mobile phone number, was helpful and I’ve not has any cold calls

Some pics, inside:
View attachment 100268

still more to do .. ready to trim
View attachment 100269

.. and the stuff.View attachment 100270
Hope it helps somebody and I'll report back when all done.

Regards

Paul

Hi Paul,

Just looking into doing this myself for my conservatory roof.
Was just wondering since it's been a while since you posted this, did it end up making a lot of difference with the temperature? Was it worth it in the end, would you recommend it?
Also how much darker did the inserts make the room?

Thanks