cheapest way to heat conservatory?

[B4 Sloth]

After last years HUGE electricity bill as a result of having a plug in oli heater on all day I need to think of a cheaper alternative.
The conservatory is the kiddies room, full of toys- not one radio controlled car yet but am working on it

Is underfloor heating cost effective?
What about storage heaters?
Or should i get the copper piping out and add a rad? (Least favourable option).

I know its not an exciting topic but am sure someone will have an idea

[mark christopher]

we went elec heater then bit bullet and had rad fitted to run off central heating, got tnermostats on each rad, best thing we did. Nice and warm.

[scotoap]

Originally Posted by B4 Sloth

After last years HUGE electricity bill as a result of having a plug in oli heater on all day I need to think of a cheaper alternative.
The conservatory is the kiddies room, full of toys- not one radio controlled car yet but am working on it

Is underfloor heating cost effective?
What about storage heaters?
Or should i get the copper piping out and add a rad? (Least favourable option).

I know its not an exciting topic but am sure someone will have an idea

What ever you decide to do, sealing all door and window frames to windows and doors will stop the losses through them.
If your conservatory has the usual glass roof then 2'' polystyrene blocks taped to the underside will further insulate (self extinguishing type) and reduce heat losses, also if not double glazed then double glaze the windows also.
Most high energy bills are caused by the heat losses through draughts through gaps, windows and doors; just in case you have not done any of these.
Plus you can remove when its summer again and put in the garage till the next winter Ha Ha if summer ever comes Eh!
Good luck M8

[Bungleaio]

Socotoap is right conservatories leak heat like it's going out of fashion extra insulation is key.

Storage heaters will be cheaper than oil heaters but by the evening they will have been cold for a while so supplementary heating will be required if you want to use the room then.

Heating under floor would be good as the floor will store some of the heat and radiate when the pipes are not being heated by the boiler. Obviously the floor needs to be broken out and re-laid with the pipes in so can be quite expensive and messy.

Installing a rad is the easiest option and will heat quite well. However unless you've got zone control to your boiler or the thermostat is located in the conservatory the rest of the house could be warm and the conservatory cold, this will also apply to the under floor heating.

[B4 Sloth]

Thanks for responses,

Out with the pipe cutter and blow torch again then.

[tony12795]

I have been thinking about different things to do in my conservatory over the last year with regards to heating it. It’s quite a big conservatory too, so I put a 1600mm by 600mm rad in.

I have looked at gas and electricity and gas wins every time it’s just cheaper, so with that in mind I would go for gas heating radiators, the only issue is you have the house heating too. So what I do is switch all the house radiators off (apart from the bathroom) via the stats on the radiators and tell my wife she can switch any radiator on to control the room temperature when a room is cold. My radiator is massive in the conservatory too.

I also have an oil radiator which I use if it’s really cold.

I did put under floor heating when I build the conservatory and did put the special pads you put down to reflect the heat up. It’s very expensive to install and run, it’s like having the kettle on when the heating is on. Things to consider if you do this are how to control the heating. I installed a temperature probe and control the heating from the floor and not room temperature which is cheaper. I only ever switch this on when I have guests staying.

One thing I wish I had looked into was under floor heating of the central heating?

Hope this helps

Tony