Planning to build a sunroom but
don’t know where to start? Here are some tips to help you
get started.
Decide on a location for the sunroom. When planning a
sunroom, this is one of the first decisions you need to
make, whether you’re building a glass or screen sunroom. To
take advantage of the most light in a northern climate,
southern exposure is the optimal choice because this will
result in the most light on a daily basis.
Northern exposure is a bad idea for northern climates
because hardly any light will enter the room and for most of
the day you’ll only receive partial light. A cool and damp
sunroom isn’t what you want.
However, in hot climates too much sun means you’ll have to
spend a lot of money on cooling the area down each day. In
this case, eastern exposure provides the best of both worlds
– sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon to cool the
area down. Of course, if you want to enjoy the sun after
work, this may not be ideal for you. Western exposure will
provide plenty of afternoon sunshine but you may require
some shading to control the amount of light coming in.
Northern exposure in the south can work well and you may not
need to use special window treatments or install a cooling
unit.
Depending on your climate and the exposure you end up
choosing, you may need to consider heating and cooling
options during the planning process. Even with the ideal
exposure, you may want to use the sunroom at all hours of
the day no matter what the weather or level of light, which
is why there are ways to control the temperature in the
room.
To deal with a sunroom that has a tendency to become too
warm, install operative skylights to act as heat dumps.
Install insulation in the roof, in addition to the glass
roof panels. Prefabricated insulating roof panels with
R-factors R-16, R-24, and R-32 are best.
Walls should be constructed with windows that can open to
allow airflow.
Ceiling fans can also encourage better circulation of air –
nest models allow you to change speeds for both summer and
winter temperatures.
Exterior roof shade tracks holding rigid exterior sunscreens
provide more options for shading.
Select window treatments that will give you the most
flexibility for blocking out sun – and letting it in.
To enjoy your sunroom no matter how cold it gets, install a
small gas wall heater or radiant floor heating to keep you
warm and toasty. |
