If you live in a part of the country where summer temperature rises above 20C it is essential to consider making arrangements to keep your sunroom temperature at a comfortable level. There are several approaches to keeping your sunroom cool and comfortable though some may be more expensive than others.

Air-conditioning will allow you to enjoy your sunroom during all seasons of the year under any weather condition.

Among several options available for cooling your sunroom, one is the central air-conditioning system. These systems are manufactured to locate the condensing coils along with the compressor and fan outside the house for transferring indoor heat to the outside air. The cooling part of the equipment which consists of the evaporating coils that absorb the heat from the indoor air for cooling it are usually placed inside the house furnace. The furnace blows indoor air over the coils, which is cooled as it passes over the coils, and is then routed throughout the house via interconnected ducts to cool the entire house.

When your sunroom is attached to your home that has a central air-conditioning system it is easy for you to tap directly into the system for extending your home’s air-conditioning to your sunroom also. You can do this by extending the house ducting into the sunroom to allow the sunroom attain the same temperature as other parts of the house. For maintaining a temperature at a different rate from the house in your sunroom you can have a separate thermostat and valve combination installed in the central air-conditioning system.

In order to use your home’s central air-conditioning system you will need to make sure that the system is powerful enough to sustain the additional load that cooling the sunroom will create. You will also need to install more duct fans that can help blow the cool air into the sunroom.

air conditioner unit isolated

If you wish have better direct control over the cooling in your sunroom you can opt for installing independent air-conditioning units that will cater exclusively to sunroom cooling. A window mounted electrical air-conditioner will work very well. Being a portable unit you can install it in any convenient window location of the sunroom. The other alternative is to go for a ductless mini split air-conditioning unit.

Similar to central air-conditioning systems the mini-split units have two main components. One is the outdoor condenser/compressor and the other is the indoor evaporator or cooling unit. Both the indoor and outdoor units are connected through a conduit, which houses the refrigerant tubing, suction tubing, a condensate drain and the power cable.

These units are a good choice when a sunroom is added to the house at a later date. It simplifies the work by eliminating the construction of additional ducting required to connect the sunroom to the central system if there is one. More over, it occupies little space in the sunroom as the small indoor unit can be installed anywhere on the sunroom walls. As the compressor and fan assembly are installed outdoors it provides noiseless cooling.

Tiles are also moisture resistant and easy to clean. With proper designing the heat collected in a sunroom can flow to other parts of the house through entryways and connective airflows during the day. Since the air in a sunroom is warmer than that in all other parts of the house, this air can be driven to other rooms for warming them up.

Floor Heating

Conservatory Underfloor Heating - © Floor Heating Ltd

Floor heating is one of the best ways under cold weather situations. Materials such as hardwood, tiles etc. are readily used in the construction of sunroom flooring. One way in which sunroom heating can be accomplished is by installing an undertile heating system.  In undertile heating, the heating arrangement is installed directly under the tiles i.e. on top of the screed unlike that of the under floor system where the floor slab itself is heated.

Undertile heating has several advantages over other sunroom heating systems. It mainly warms the floor surface rather than the concrete slab underneath, and therefore consumes much less power for producing sufficient heat. The flooring is warmed up at a much faster rate taking approx. one to one and a half hours as compared to nearly ten hours required in case of ‘in slab’ or ‘under floor’ heating systems.

However, since the installation of sunroom flooring is usually done over old concrete slabs or pre-existing decks it is advisable to consult a qualified flooring professional in order to avoid any issues with peeling, unevenness, cracking etc. at a later stage. It is important for the flooring of the sunroom to be able to withstand many hours of direct sunlight and extreme variations in temperature. For managing power usage efficiently a thermostat is necessary with undertile heating systems. Many manufacturers claim that undertile heating systems cut down power consumption by over 50 percent as compared to conventional floor heating systems.

These are some Floor Heating companies with solutions for commercial, resident and public buildings, check them out:

• The Floor Warming Company – www.floorwarmingcompany.co.uk
• Floor Heating Systems Ltd – www.floorheatingsystems.com
• Watts Radiant, Inc – www.wattsradiant.com
• Warmafloor GB Ltd – www.warmafloor.co.uk

Hydronic Liquid Floor Heating

If your house has a hydronic liquid floor heating system it is another alternative that you can use for your sunroom. Although a somewhat costly option that may require extensive construction work it will let the home’s heating system work in the sunroom also. Liquid floor heating systems are quite popular in which hot water from a boiler is pumped through tubing laid underneath the floor. The pumped hot water warms up the slab and the slab’s thermal mass absorbs the heat and slowly drives it into the room.

The system offers a high level of comfort, noiseless operation, and improvement in air quality, as there is no dust, toxic or other infiltrations unlike forced-air heating systems that increase the rate of air infiltration.  The temperature in the sunroom, like in other parts of the house, is controlled through valves, pumps and thermostats incorporated in the system for regulating the temperature of the water flow in the tubing loops of the hydronic system.

Burglar sunroom breaking in

It is best to have contacts at all exterior points of entry to the house including the sunroom. The contact will be able to sense when doors/windows are opened and activate the system alarm. Glass breaking sensors are also available that will operate the alarm if someone tries to get in by breaking the glass of the sunroom. Motion detectors have their own advantages however they do not detect the presence of an individual until he/she is already inside the house.

Home security systems basically include these elements:

security system console, mounted on a wall, shallow DOF

• The control panel – All the wiring of the system terminates at the control panel. The back up battery is also located at this point and in a monitored system this is the place where the phone lines are connected.
• Keypad – The keypad is the point from where the system is armed/disarmed.
• The Siren – The audible signal heard when the alarm goes off
• Inside motion detector- Motion detectors sense human presence inside a room.
• Special motion detectors- for pets
• Door and/or Window contacts – These contacts function to activate the alarm when any door or window of the house is opened.
• A Central Monitoring Station – In a monitored system, when the alarm is set off the control panel transmits a message to the central monitoring station that is manned round the clock. On receiving the message the Central Monitoring Station will first try to contact the owner and then contact the police, fire department and the medics. Generally, there is a monthly fee charged for these services provided by the security company that operates the Central Monitoring Station and with whom the owner of the house has a monitoring contract.

Sunrooms & Home Security Monitoring Systems

In monitored systems when the system senses anything it considers as a security threat it waits for approx 40 to 45 seconds to give sufficient time to the homeowner to deactivate the system if it is a false alarm. When not deactivated within the set timeframe it sends a message to the monitoring company through telephone lines connected to control panel. On receiving the message the monitoring company calls the home to verify the alarm. If no response is received or if a wrong password is provided the company informs the police on which the police respond accordingly.

Unmonitored systems usually have an on-site sound alarm system with or without flashing lights. The system relies on neighbors to call the police if and when they find the alarm activated. Passers by or neighbors are advised never to investigate an alarm on their own. Unmonitored system should preferably have strobe lights also incorporated in the system along with the alarms.

The strobe lights should be located in some ‘difficult to access’ spot on a side street of the house. The siren and flashing lights of the alarm system should be installed on the house from where they can be seen and heard easily.
Security wise your sunroom may be the most important place where you need to ensure placing sensors of your alarm system in addition to other places in the house.

Two and three season sunrooms cost relatively less than year round or four season sunrooms. This is mainly on account of the superior insulation properties of four season sunrooms. One type of four-season sunroom is made using a wooden frame type enclosure. Here it is possible to install batt roll insulation in the walls. Batt insulation is made from mineral fiber, which is either rock wool or processed fiberglass. It is used as insulation material within walls as also in ceilings and floors. Usually this type of insulation is the least expensive among wall insulating materials. However, it needs to be installed very carefully for giving effective performance. It is best suited for stud spacing of 16/24 inches. Batts are available in standard lengths of 4 or 8 feet and in widths that fit securely between wood framing members. The typical R-value for batts is approx. R3 per inch of batt thickness.

Over batts rigid foam board type of insulation should be installed in the interior walls. These boards are available in several thicknesses and possess high insulating value ranging between R4 to R8 per inch of board thickness. When the sunroom is well insulated it will allow the heating/air-conditioning system in the house to extend also to the sunroom for maintaining high comfort levels.

During sunroom wall insulation it is essential to install two vapor retarders in the wall assembly for best results. You must check with an insulation contractor, architect or heating and air-conditioning contractor or a knowledgeable local person for his opinion whether in your region it is appropriate to install the vapor retarder on interior walls or on the exterior wall. Well-built four season sunroom walls usually comprise of four-inch thick nominal walls for added insulation making them more thermally efficient and more comfortable in the winter.

For three season sunrooms normal insulation or no insulation is used at all because they are intended for use only during summer, spring and fall. As winter usage is by and large excluded, these sunrooms are not designed for being heated and therefore need no arrangements of any sort for heat loss prevention. This drastically cuts down overall expenses that include material and labor costs involved in insulating walls of the sunroom with savings on ceiling and floor insulation costs also. This cost difference between three season and four season sunroom should however be viewed keeping in mind that four season sunrooms have a more utilitarian quality and their cost of usage is much less as they are used for the whole year as against eight to nine months for three season sunrooms. Such a cost comparison will be more realistic.