HOME CONSERVATORIES

It seems that almost everybody wants a home with a conservatory or a glazed extension at some point in their life. They can suit our temperate climate well and bring us as close to the garden as we can be when the weather stops us from actually being in it.

Apart from creating a Segue between the outdoors and in, letting in daylight makes environmental sense as well as improving our well-being, but to get more natural light into our homes is it better to have windows that face the rays square on? Will it be too hot in summer or will the sun’s rays simply bounce off as reflection? 

The distance to which light will reach inside is limited with the height of windows, but rooflights allow you to extend out further without depriving the existing home of light. If you yearn more for the view or a connection to the garden, glazed doors and storey height windows are the answer. 

There is however, a balance to be made. The design has to reap daylight, but also limit the heat leaking out of your home in the winter and avoid cooking it in the summer. A large south facing roof light can convert a small room into an oven with the sun radiating through it like a car windscreen in a traffic jam.