August 7th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

Conservatories are a great place to relax all year round and they’re a really desirable addition to almost any home. Unfortunately, they tend to be severely affected by the weather, becoming stiflingly hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. If you want to relax in your conservatory even on a frosty day, there’s nothing stopping you, and you don’t have to spend a fortune on heating, either! Read our guide to the best ways to heat up your conservatory this winter without increasing your energy bills.

Why Does My Conservatory Get So Cold?

It’s important to understand why your conservatory gets cold so you know what you’re up against. This will help you decide what heating options are best for you! Most conservatories are essentially big glass boxes. Compared to other building materials, glass conducts heat well. This means heat passes through glass, so it’ll absorb a lot of the heat from sunlight on a hot day, but on the other side of the coin, it’ll let a lot of heat out on a cold day, too. Glass also attracts a lot of damp and condensation, which will make your room feel colder too. As moisture evaporates, it naturally sucks heat out of the air. This, coupled with the natural heat loss you get from glass, can create a sharp chill in your conservatory – especially if you have a large conservatory with a lot of glass.

How to Insulate Your Conservatory

Most conservatories are built with double glazed glass which will help you reduce heat loss – and therefore reduce how much it costs to heat your conservatory – but double glazing only goes so far, especially if your conservatory has a glass roof as well. The quickest and easiest way to insulate your conservatory without paying to have a new roof fitted is to make use of some thick blinds and drapes. This way you can open the blinds when the sun is out and shut them when it’s cold and dark. You can also use some thick carpets (or rugs if you don’t want to get proper carpet fitted) to help take some of the cold edge out of the room. Heat rises so not much heat will be lost through the floor anyway, but walking on a cosy rug as opposed to a hard, cold floor will take some of the bite out of the cold.

How to Heat Your Conservatory in Winter

Cosying up your conservatory with blinds and drapes is great for keeping heat locked inside your conservatory but it won’t do a lot if you can’t effectively heat your conservatory in the first place. Everyone’s conservatory is different, so we’ll lay out a range of options for heating your conservatory below and you can simply pick the one which best suits your needs!

Best Value Way to Heat Your Conservatory: Heated Blankets

The best value way to heat your conservatory doesn’t actually involve heating your conservatory at all – just heat yourself! A good quality heated throw can cover both you and a couple of family members on your conservatory sofa. Modern electric throws are now just as cosy as any other kind of blanket even when not turned on, and as they’re heating you directly rather than heating the entire room, use far less electricity to run.

HSD Recommends: Homefront Luxurious Soft Chocolate Heated Electric Throw

Offering you an oversized electric throw to keep you warm on your conservatory sofa, Homefront’s heated throw adds a touch of style and luxury to your conservatory. It’s made from exquisitely soft fabric that’s a delight to snuggle under, and once you turn the blanket on you’ll find it quickly heats up with the trademark gentle warmth that Homefront is known for. Despite the luxurious feel of the material and the soothing heat of the advanced heating elements, the Soft Chocolate throw also offers incredible value, costing as little as 3p per night to run. The low running costs coupled with the heated blanket’s exquisite quality make it a clear leader for keeping snuggly without spending a fortune.

Best Way to Heat a Small Conservatory: Oil Filled Radiators

If you’ve only got a small conservatory, a small oil-filled radiator will do just the job. Oil-filled radiators are filled with a type of oil that retains heat really well, so they’ll give you an even heat around the whole room. What’s even better is that, because of the heat retention of the oil inside the radiator, you’ll be able to feel the benefit of your oil-filled radiator long after you’ve switched it off.

HSD Recommends: MYLEK Oil Filled Radiator

With a fast heat-up time and a range of energy-saving features, this MYLEK radiator is ideal for quickly warming up smaller conservatories. It has an adjustable thermostat and a fully-programmable 24-hour timer, meaning you’re always in full control of the temperature of your conservatory, even when you’re not using it. It’s also small and portable and is fitted with casters so you can easily wheel it around to other rooms in your house.

Best Way to Heat a Large Conservatory: Smart Heaters

Everything is getting the smart treatment these days, and heaters are no exception. Smart radiators and panel heaters can be controlled via your smartphone, giving you complete control over how warm you have your conservatory, and at what time. You can also monitor the performance of your radiator in real-time even when you’re not in the room, which is just what you need to make sure the heat is circulating to every corner of even the largest conservatory.

HSD Recommends: MYLEK Smart Radiator

With an incredibly efficient performance and no hidden costs to use its full range of app features, MYLEK have produced another market-leading electric heater for your conservatory. Offering a WiFi app that you can use to monitor and control your radiator from anywhere in the world (provided you’re connected to the internet), this is one smart radiator that’s worthy of the name. This means the smart radiator will have paid for itself in energy savings after just a few months, all while keeping your conservatory warm on even the coldest days! Choose from a model of up to 2kW in power to heat even very large conservatories with ease.