Having a sunroom added onto your home is a great way to bring the beautiful views from outside into your home. However, during the winter months, some sunrooms might be a bit too cold to be enjoyable. Constantly having to run your HVAC also isn’t the ideal option, as this is likely to push your electricity bill up quite a bit. But don’t give up just yet. There are effective, affordable and energy efficient ways to keep your sunroom pleasantly warm this winter.

Energy Efficient Sunroom Heating Options

Using solar radiation to its best effect can assist with heating your sunroom. However, it is usually necessary to supplement the solar radiation with additional heating sources. Using glass with a high solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) rating when constructing your sunroom may assist with keeping it warmer using solar radiation.

Consider what effect shading trees and branches may have on the solar heating of your sunroom, There is no sense in installing the best SHGC glass if it will be shaded out by a tree or some other obstruction.

Sealing off any small gaps in the sunroom windows, doors, walls and roof will keep warm air in and will thus assist with retaining heat. Any gaps around pipes and electrical wiring leading to a colder space, and especially outside, may leak heat from your sunroom. Plug these gaps with a suitable material to prevent radiating heat or escaping warm air.

Covering your sunroom windows with clear plastic may also be an option. Clear plastic is easily taped over existing frames to create an additional insulation space between the window and the frame and can be easily removed when summer comes around.

If your sunroom floor can lose heat to the outside by radiation, it may be as simple as laying a rug in conjunction with added insulation on the floor to prevent heat escaping your sunroom. This may also assist to block off gaps in your sunroom floor that may be leaking heat to the outside.

All in all environmentally friendly practices boils down to making use of free energy from the sun to heat your sunroom, and then retaining the maximum amount of heat in the sunroom so as to use as little as possible supplemental heating, from whatever source, to keep your sunroom at a comfortable temperature during the winter.

Electrical Sunroom Heating Options

This one will depend on your budget! Extending your HVAC into the sunroom may be an option, but it will most certainly add significant cost to your heating bill. It would also usually require the services of an accredited installer, further pushing up the cost.

Installing a window mounted heating unit in your sunroom may also be an option, however they are usually really noisy, spoiling the nice atmosphere of your sunroom. They can be rather expensive to buy and install too.

Space heaters are a good option for a lower budget, however, they need to be constantly monitored as they can start a fire if you place them somewhere in the sunroom that’s too close to a flammable material. Having stated the obvious, it may still be the best option both in purchase price and operating cost.

Space heaters come in various configurations usually being electrically powered . Electrical heaters come in either “air heating” or “radiating” heaters. Both can be very successfully employed to heat your sunroom.

Furthermore, utilizing an inexpensive timer to control the time that you operate your space heater may significantly reduce your electricity usage. A timer in conjunction with a thermostat is even better to reduce the energy usage to heat your sunroom. They have the added advantage that you can remove them and store them for summer and thus have additional space in your sunroom.

Electrical baseboard heaters may be a viable option if you want a permanently installed heat source in your sunroom. They have all the advantages of space heaters, but remain a permanent fixture in your sunroom. They make no noise and can heat the space very efficiently.

Underfloor heating may be an option, this means having a heat source incorporated into the floor of your sunroom that will radiate heat through the floor to the room. These systems are usually costly to install and operate.

Ventless fireplaces are sometimes the heat source of choice, they do add atmosphere and ambiance to your sunroom. The downside being that they are usually costly to install and operate.

Whatever method you choose to heat your sunroom it will be to your advantage to make use of a humidifier in your sunroom. That’s because moist air absorbs and retains heat far better than dry air and thus will assist in keeping your heating cost as low as possible. It may be as simple a solution as placing a bowl filled with water close to and in front of your space heater to allow the water to evaporate and humidify the space.

Don’t yet have your own sunroom to enjoy the view of your snow covered backyard? Let Sunrooms Express Knoxville help!