Veranda Heater - Focus On Possible Solutions

2023 Author: Lynn Laird | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:49

What if we told you that you can enjoy the outdoors in winter without leaving your home? Certainly, the cold will soon knock on the door, but that does not mean that you have to deprive yourself of nature. What are we talking about ? Well, it's about creating a welcoming and warm enough living space on your veranda. Bathed in light and appreciated by everyone, the latter has become the best ally of trendy homeowners who want to gain an extra room in their home without spending too much. However, having such a contemporary extension is not enough to make it a living space, especially in winter. We must therefore find a way to heat it. But which veranda heater should you choose in order to take full advantage of this glazed space without freezing? Here are some great projects to consider!

Conservatory heating in winter: tips and solutions for every budget

Better than a simple wooden garden shed, the aluminum veranda is at the forefront of comfort throughout the year, summer and winter. With a beautiful view towards the garden, good ventilation and an adapted heating system, this glazed space becomes a real living room. It can therefore be transformed into a dining room, a kitchen, a living room or even a bathroom. Some owners who are not lacking in inspiration even have the audacity to build a small swimming pool there, accessible all winter long. In short, there are several decorative options to turn the veranda into a real asset in the house.

Factors to consider when determining your conservatory heating needs

Being true nests of innovation, verandas and terraces have nothing to envy to the other rooms of the house. However, there are a few factors to consider when arranging it. Bathed in light all day long, the veranda quickly becomes warm and pleasant during the summer, unlike mid-season and in winter when the number of sunny hours is limited. To avoid any possible heat loss, well thought out heating is often necessary. But which one to choose exactly? Before getting to the heart of the matter, here are some great tips to remember when assessing the need for heating in your own veranda.

Area, insulation and orientation

Of course, heating for the veranda is not compulsory. To define your heating needs, it is important to take into account the area of your glazed space. If it is a small extension of 10 m², heating is not compulsory at all. On the other hand, terraces and verandas of 20 m² (or more) transformed into a living room (living room, kitchen, bedroom, winter garden) require an additional heating system in winter.

In addition to the area, the quality of the insulation put in place is also to be considered. If you choose to build your veranda on a concrete slab and equip it with double glazing, you will significantly reduce your energy bill. So, the thicker the bay window, the better! In this context, we remind you that wood is a high performance thermal insulator, widely used for the construction and insulation of certain models of verandas. Ditto for frames with double thermal break for aluminum constructions.

Finally, last but not least, the orientation (or the place of installation of your veranda) plays a big role in the definition of the heating need. A south-facing veranda will better retain the natural heat provided by the sun. This, however, will not be the case for regions where climates vary. Between the North and the South of the country, the weather can strongly influence the way you heat your veranda.

Which conservatory heater to choose this winter?

After taking into account the area, insulation and installation location of your veranda, here are the heating solutions available to you. Efficient and economical, extending the heating circuit from the home to the veranda is a good way to warm up your new living room. Radiators, wood stove or underfloor heating linked to central heating, the choice is yours. And no, the heating bill will not increase too much, especially for households living in the south of France who constantly take advantage of the greenhouse effect to heat the entire home.

Auxiliary heater for veranda - which one for you?

No more icy verandas in winter! Auxiliary heaters for verandas and terraces are a very simple and inexpensive solution to heat your glazed space. You can therefore choose from several models with or without flame: brazier, ethanol fireplace, gas heating tower, gas radiant parasol, electric radiant, etc. Relatively easy to set up, all of these variations are ideal for limited areas. As for the spacious verandas, you can either opt for several auxiliary heaters and tear up your electricity bill, or bet on the gas radiant parasol (flameless heating). Accessible, but a bit bulky, the latter sprinkles heat from above and can therefore cover a wide circular area around it, making it perfect for XL verandas. However, it may make a small, permanent hissing sound.

When you want to heat a small closed veranda, it is better to avoid additional heaters with a flame. Less romantic but more efficient, the electric radiant is very popular with owners. Adjustable, space saving and super quiet, this electric veranda heating system provides very pleasant warmth and can be hung practically anywhere: wall, ceiling, mobile support. It's good on the budget and available in multiple sizes and lengths. It can also be found in a parasol or heating tower model. If you miss the flames, arrange a few candle holders on the table or two-three large garden candles on the ground.

Wood stove

The cold and the increase in the energy cost are pushing more and more conservatory owners to choose the wood stove as an additional heating method. Being quite versatile, wood stoves can be found practically anywhere, from indoors to outdoors, including verandas and terraces. In the event that the stove is invited into the veranda, it must be compact enough and that it does not emit smoke. Manufacturers therefore offer a multitude of models adapted to each need and each budget. Either way, the wood stove is quite a practical, efficient and economical conservatory heater. It usually uses granules or chips.

Heating floor

If you want to enjoy your veranda all year round, the idea of underfloor heating can seem quite appealing. For those who are not in the know, the electric underfloor heating works through a network of pipes under the ground which is normally installed before the construction of the veranda. This network, for its part, is supplied by a boiler. The temperature of underfloor heating must be between 13 and 15 ° C. Supplemented by radiators, the heated floor ensures a temperature between 21 and 24 ° C. In any case, it is important to choose the heating mode for veranda before the construction of the glazed space.

Canadian well

Still called Provençal, the Canadian well is a surface heating system. Providing natural air conditioning, it is based on the fact that the ground temperature at a depth of 1m60 is higher than the ambient temperature in the space in winter and lower in summer. The principle ? Take advantage of the thermal inertia of the ground to treat the ventilating air in the veranda and in the house. Efficient and eco-responsible, this heating system is, unfortunately, very little used by owners because of its too high installation cost.

Reversible air conditioning for each season

Finally, for those who are looking for a very useful solution in summer as in winter, reversible air conditioning comes to your rescue. Practical, efficient and easy to set up, it will cool the veranda during the summer season and heat it during the winter months.