Why Do Conservatories Get So Hot?

Reduce heat and glare and stop your conservatory getting too hot in the Summer

Conservatories are designed to be a pleasant, bright, relaxing place to sit back and enjoy. All too often, however, they can overheat and become uncomfortable – even unusable. So, why do conservatories get so hot, and perhaps more importantly, how can window film from The Window Film Company help?

The beauty of a conservatory, orangery or a garden room is that they are all usually created using large windows, with expanses of glazing forming the majority of the walls and the roof. This design allows for a largely uninterrupted view outside, allowing you to enjoy your surroundings, it also means that excellent levels of natural light are able to pass through into the conservatory (or summer room or orangery!) providing you with a naturally bright space to enjoy.

The large panes and expanses of glazing can cause issues, however. Left untreated, large windows or roof panels can allow not just light, but also solar energy to stream unchecked through the glass and into your property, steadily raising the internal temperature until all too often, it becomes too hot to enjoy or endure.

During the summer months, or in any hot weather, this issue can be particularly acute, with increased hours of sunlight and higher temperatures meaning that on a warm day the temperature inside a conservatory can rise to unpleasant levels very quickly. An application of specialist conservatory window film from The Window Film Company will help.

What is conservatory window film?

The Window Film Company supplies and installs specialist window film for use on both glass and polycarbonate conservatories. In both instances, the film is applied to the internal surface of the conservatory roof, providing a barrier to a percentage of the sun’s solar energy, preventing it from passing through the roof and adding to the internal temperature.

The fact that it is applied directly to the surface of the conservatory roof makes it more effective (and cost efficient) than blinds, which can be very expensive to fit and awkward to clean or maintain. The fact that blinds are set back from the surface means that even when they are shut, they still allow solar energy to pass through the roof, simply serving to trap the heat inside. Blinds will also block the view and light; another reason to consider window films as a solution to your overheating conservatory.

What are my options for conservatory cooling window films?

Your choices when it comes to window film for cooling your conservatory roof are dictated by the material your roof is made of. There is a specific film for glass and a different type developed especially for use on polycarbonate roof areas.

If you have a glass conservatory roof, you will require our Supertint Glass product. Designed to be applied to the internal face of your conservatory roof, this high-performance solar control window film will give the external face of the glass a daytime reflective appearance. It’s this mirrored look that provides effective protection against excess heat, serving to bounce away a percentage of the sun’s solar energy before it can enter the conservatory and increase the heat.

The total energy rejected is 78% but it’s important to note that an application of this window film won’t make your conservatory feel cold. It is designed to stop excess heat entering your property, so will allow for warmth while slowing down the relentless build up of unwanted excess heat.

It’s also important to be aware that an application of this window film to your glass conservatory roof won’t block the view or sacrifice high levels of natural light. During daylight hours the view from the inside out will be maintained, while excellent levels of natural light will also be allowed to pass through the glass. The simplest way to describe it is to imagine putting a light pair of sunglasses over your conservatory roof!

For more details about what you can expect from Supertint glass from The Window Film Company, please contact a member of our team on 01494 794477 or email info@windowfilm.co.uk – one of our experts will be more than happy to help.

If your conservatory roof is constructed of polycarbonate, you will need our specialist Supertint Poly window film. This film is applied to the internal surface of the roof and will give the polycarbonate an opaque appearance, serving to reject up to 76% of solar energy. As with Supertint glass, the film will still allow excellent levels of light transmission although the view from both sides of the roof will be blocked.

Additional benefits of window film for your conservatory

An application of window film to your conservatory roof will deliver excellent results when it comes to keeping your conservatory cool, but did you know it will help with other year-round issues too? Glare is a common problem in rooms with big or large numbers of windows, with unchecked sunlight streaming through the glass at different angles during the day (the low lying nature of the sun during winter months can exacerbate the problem further) making it difficult to focus on reading, screens or work. An application of window film will filter out the harshest of the sunlight (Supertint Poly will reduce glare by 76%, Supertint Glass by 79%) helping to deliver a more pleasant internal environment all year round.

Fading can be a seriously problematic issue, with the damage often done before it is too late. This damage is caused by a combination of factors; heat, light and the biggest contributing factor, UV rays. Both of the specialist conservatory window films offered by The Window Film Company will reject 99% of the sun’s harmful UV rays, helping to slow down this damaging process.

Installation of conservatory window film and roof film is the best value solution

Conservatory films offer a great financial saving when compared to window blinds and air conditioning, as the installation, ongoing running and maintenance costs of each of these can be excessive. In addition, a heat rejection film installed in a conservatory is also a better value option than the recently available conservatory solid roof options. These roof systems, to give your conservatory an insulated roof, often a tiled roof (instead of a plastic or glass roof) are designed mainly to deal with cold in the Winter.

How do I install window film for my conservatory roof?

Every online order of window film for your conservatory will come complete with printed fitting instructions and a free plastic application squeegee to help you with the installation. There is also a step by step video fitting instruction guide at the bottom of each product page.

Fitting the film requires you to first clean the glass as thoroughly as possible. Then create a soapy water solution by adding a few drops of washing up liquid to a plant spray bottle full of water. Use the spray bottle to cover the window with soapy water. Then, remove the backing sheet from the film and coat the exposed side of the film with the solution. Then apply the film to the glass, using the squeegee to push out the moisture to the edge of the panel.

This process is obviously made more difficult by the fact that the roof panels will be some distance off the ground and at a difficult angle. We, therefore, recommend that you take advantage of our nationwide window film installation service. Our teams of fully qualified and vastly experienced fitting teams are able to fit the film to your conservatory roof with the minimum of fuss, allowing you to sit back and relax, safe in the knowledge that you’ll soon be able to benefit from a multi-purpose, high performance window film.

For more details about our installation service, or extra information on the window films that can help keep your conservatory cool, please contact a member of our team by calling 01494 794477 or email info@windowfilm.co.uk.