4 Alternatives To Air Conditioning

Alternatives to Air Conditioning

Spring — the ideal time to make the most of your conservatory. Breakfast, lunch or evening meal — it’s great to be able to relax and enjoy the warming sensation of the sunshine.

But, this scenario can very quickly change as soon as the temperature rises a little too much. It can be very hard to manage the temperature in any indoor space where there are a lot of windows and glass. The very thing you want to enjoy can end up making your living room or conservatory too uncomfortable to use.

The heat comes streaming in through your windows — but can’t get out again.

And on top of this the glare at this time of year can be directly into your eyes.

A classic English garden view can feel more like this.

Busy ‘enjoying’ the sunshine through the conservatory windows.

So – what can you do?

AIR CONDITIONING

“AHH!” I hear you say — Air Con — that’s what you need. But is it?

There is a big financial drawback – along with physical and cosmetic issues with this approach. Even a small-scale installation of AirCon can cost a packet. And then there’s the cost of running it — not very Eco-friendly. Some times pretty noisy too.

And it doesn’t address the issue of glare at all.

Yes — if you invest in decent AirCon you will be able to remain nice and cool whilst the sun beats down. But it’s expensive, noisy, not eco-friendly, and intrusive.

Portable air conditioning is available. Cheaper. No installation needed. But where do you keep the big ugly box the rest of the year? Or do you leave it lurking in the corner of your conservatory like some weird objet d’art?

These are not the air-conditioning units you are looking for… The New R2D2 range…

BLINDS

You can use blinds of course. Ok, so you’ve spent a shed-load on a beautiful conservatory — and now you need to spend a load more so you can cover it all up! You have all those lovely windows and fantastic view — but have to keep the blinds pulled right down in order to bear being in the room at all.

Blinds (or curtains) can be a great addition and add a nice finishing touch to your glazed extension. But getting it right is not always easy, or cheap or even that effective. And of course if you opt for fine or coloured fabrics they will likely get quickly damaged and faded from the strength of the sun.

A beautiful ‘Sun Room’ with lovely curtains AND blinds. And no sun.

Sometimes — if you’re south facing for instance — even blinds don’t stop the heat. You may have to open some windows for ventilation. That’s a pretty blunt way of dealing with the problem though. Venetian blinds end up getting blown all over the place with the slightest breath of wind — and yet the room can still be stuffy and hot — and in the shade!

FANS

Seriously? Fans? After all that time, trouble and money to get the conservatory of your dreams the best fix for your heat problem is a fan….?

Fans do work. A bit. But they’re more about moving the existing air about than cooling it down per se. If the air gets too hot you’re basically just blowing hot air around. And of course the hotter it is the stronger setting you need on the fan. So you could end up facing a force 10 gale whilst trying to read the Sunday newspaper.

It’s fair to say that — although they have their uses — we are not big fans of fans.

Blown out of proportion. We are not big fans of big fans.

WINDOW FILM

Now you’re talking. With this solution you can not only cut out the heat by up to 70% – but also reduce the glare. And it’s relatively economical to install, with less disruption or impact on the existing room than AirCon.

Hi-Tech Window Film, professionally installed, prevents the transference of heat through your glass so stops the room heating up in the first place. You don’t need to cool it down — it’s pleasant enough already J

No need to open the windows, or pull the blinds, or fill the conservatory with fans.

You can use the room perfectly as intended. And its not just the spring and summer months that benefit. Window film can help to insulate too. Just as the sun’s heat is kept outside – the heat that is in the room stays in — meaning you should be able to use the room for much more of the year and even in the winter too — without having to put the heating on.

Ooh – this look nice. No Blinds. No Curtains. No fans. No AirCon.

And there’s more…

Window film protects your curtains, carpets, soft furnishings and artwork from the suns damaging rays. This is a real bonus. You’d be amazed at how quickly and how badly fabrics can fade. Window film cuts harmful UV too.

So — to recap:

AirCon is a bit of a con

Don’t be blinded by blinds

We are not a fan of fans

Basically when it comes to keeping cool in your conservatory, window film is head and shoulders above the competition.