Alternative to pesky, parky, polycarb roof

[Hillydevon]

Hi all. I know this is an old chestnut but thought I'd gauge up-to-date thinking on what to do about a polycarb conservatory roof to make it less thermally disastrous.  It's my daughter and son-in-law's house and they inherited the situation.... Large add-on which is open-plan to the kitchen. Concerned me from the outset but of course looked and felt peachy when they bought on a nice Goldilocks spring day. A couple of (fortunately) pretty mild winters on, they are finding what those large temp swings are like in practice. And now they have a newborn to consider. 

     As the room can't be sectioned off, and as it has a (pretty puny) rad working off the main CH system, I understand that it's classed as an extension rather than a conservatory. Whatever you call it, it takes turns being a fridge and oven. 

     Not investigated what kind of foundations it's sitting on, which would clearly have implications for any remedial work. Ideally they want to keep it fully  translucent (rather than replace with something more substantial and perhaps a rooflight or two). It's a big ask, as they say! Any new products on the market that would mitigate the worst of the temp fluctuations? All suggestions welcomed by me, the kids and my three-day-old granddaughter! 

Regards,

Tim

[SteamyTea]

You can get aerogel filled glazing, but I would think it is expensive.  You may be able to make your own with silica filler and some polycarbonate or toughened/laminated glass sheeting. http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__Colloidal_Silica_402.html

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/Q_CELL_Lightweight_Filler.html

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__Glass_Bubbles_403.html

 

Depending on how much light is really needed, you could replace some roof panels with solid insulation.

 

It should be fairly easy to insulated the walls, either internally or externally, and if you can, do the floor as well.  There way be a height issue though.

 

Easy enough to fit some thermal blinds on the windows, they can help a lot, as could secondary glazing (making it triple/quadruple glazed.  These could be removed in summer.

 

May be worth looking at the heating and seeing if any secondary heating system can be fitted.  There is a large choice from a child killing wood burner, though infrared, simple fan heaters, underfloor heating etc.

As this is more about comfort that the cheapest running costs and technology payback, don't look at anything that seems to be "magic", it is simply thermal engineering.

 

 

[Hillydevon]

Thanks for those thoughts, SteamyTea! I hadn't heard of aerogel-filled glazing so will certainly pass that info on. Nor do I have any experience of thermal blinds... If they're effective that will certainly be another avenue to explore. I think they're set on keeping keeping it fully translucent, otherwise some lightweight, insulation-stuffed partial roof covering would be right up there. My son-in-law says his parents have a similar set-up that's comfortable all year round and that there's some form of "thermal glass". I think they have underfloor heating, though, and I'm betting that's got more to do with it. Daughter and son-in-law have bought an electric wood burner lookalike but in the cold snaps I'm sure that will be blasting away trying (and failing) to compensate for the heat loss. I did suggest the real thing but not sure if there would be a flue option. 

Thanks again!