Hello everyone, tomorrow we'll receive our ordered conservatory, about 2 weeks ahead of the scheduled delivery date, and I feel a bit "in panic" since I need to make a subfloor before we can put up the room. We've come so far that we have "everything" ready except for the insulation itself, and my question is what is most advantageous, to use foam or some type of wool as insulation? There are 195 high beams, so some insulation needs to go in there too.
A follow-up question, I've received mixed advice from friends and acquaintances about what panel to use at the bottom, ranging from "subfloor panel" to regular 12mm plywood soaked in waste oil to protect against moisture from below. Does anyone have thoughts on what would be a better choice here?
Thought of one more thing, is it a good or bad idea to lay out construction plastic over the insulation before placing the base layer for the floor, which we intend to be floor chipboard? The idea is to lay underfloor heating on top of this, and for the "top layer," we are considering mosaic in the form of river stone type.
Very grateful for answers!
A follow-up question, I've received mixed advice from friends and acquaintances about what panel to use at the bottom, ranging from "subfloor panel" to regular 12mm plywood soaked in waste oil to protect against moisture from below. Does anyone have thoughts on what would be a better choice here?
Thought of one more thing, is it a good or bad idea to lay out construction plastic over the insulation before placing the base layer for the floor, which we intend to be floor chipboard? The idea is to lay underfloor heating on top of this, and for the "top layer," we are considering mosaic in the form of river stone type.
Very grateful for answers!
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By wool board, do you mean a solid thing like that which is not on a roll kind of then?
http://www.masens.se/bilder/artiklar/zoom/373002r_1.jpg ?
Shouldn't it work with a 22mm chipboard to accommodate underfloor heating?
http://www.masens.se/bilder/artiklar/zoom/373002r_1.jpg ?
Shouldn't it work with a 22mm chipboard to accommodate underfloor heating?
yes, easier to seal than with styrofoam.
What surface layer are you planning to use? Do you really want underfloor heating? Keep in mind that it requires very well-insulated glass sections to have any effect as underfloor heating is very sensitive to cold drafts.
What surface layer are you planning to use? Do you really want underfloor heating? Keep in mind that it requires very well-insulated glass sections to have any effect as underfloor heating is very sensitive to cold drafts.
The idea of underfloor heating came from a friend and it sounded like a good idea, at least then, but we’ll see, the wife and I are a bit sold on the stone as a floor, and it tends to be a bit cold to walk on, especially in winter, hence the idea of a self-regulating heating cable that would have been at around 15 degrees or something like that.
Otherwise, I was also interested in bamboo as a floor, but it's not completely decided yet...
Thanks for the reply, by the way!
Otherwise, I was also interested in bamboo as a floor, but it's not completely decided yet...
Thanks for the reply, by the way!
So, it works with underfloor heating, the question is just how energy-efficient it will be
There is lots of information here, http://www.lksystems.se/sv/LK-Systems-Sverige1/Golvvarme/Golvvarme-i-uterum/
Personally, I will lay a mat and heat up as needed with some sort of stove.
There is lots of information here, http://www.lksystems.se/sv/LK-Systems-Sverige1/Golvvarme/Golvvarme-i-uterum/
Personally, I will lay a mat and heat up as needed with some sort of stove.
The choice of heating also depends on how it will be used, primarily whether you will have a base heat on and occasionally heat up to around 20 or have full heat all the time. The latter would likely be expensive (even keeping it at, say, 10 all year round is somewhat costly). It doesn't look very well insulated.
The thing is that underfloor heating is slow, so you can't just turn up the thermostat to 20 and expect the right temperature an hour later. It might take a day...
We are building our own insulated standalone sunroom and will opt for rather oversized convector electric heaters (without fans) that can quickly heat the room from, say, 10 to 20. The cast floor will, of course, be cold, but we expect people to wear shoes/slippers. This is, of course, related to it being standalone.
The thing is that underfloor heating is slow, so you can't just turn up the thermostat to 20 and expect the right temperature an hour later. It might take a day...
We are building our own insulated standalone sunroom and will opt for rather oversized convector electric heaters (without fans) that can quickly heat the room from, say, 10 to 20. The cast floor will, of course, be cold, but we expect people to wear shoes/slippers. This is, of course, related to it being standalone.
In the long run, it's essentially an extension of the house, and we will probably have guests, etc. out there since we have a shortage of larger rooms, even though the house itself is quite spacious. During summer, we likely won't have any heat on at all; it's more during autumn and spring that we might spend more time out there. In winter, we expect to be able to use it a bit when the mood strikes, and have no problem leaving the heating off to turn it on in the morning if we plan to be there in the evening, or at least the day before if we're having guests, for example.
But certainly, the idea of a convector heater has crossed our minds too, mostly for cost reasons. Additionally, the plan is to install a fireplace on the interior outer wall facing the sunroom within a year or two and mount an exhaust fan there to heat the sunroom.
But certainly, the idea of a convector heater has crossed our minds too, mostly for cost reasons. Additionally, the plan is to install a fireplace on the interior outer wall facing the sunroom within a year or two and mount an exhaust fan there to heat the sunroom.
I would probably first and foremost calculate the power requirement. I suspect that you may need an additional source besides the underfloor heating to be able to increase the temperature from unheated or 5 degrees when it's cold outside in a reasonable time. For this, you ideally need the average U-value of the conservatory. Alternatively, you can make a rough calculation based on some assumed values.
I can only find the U-value for the roof and none for the wall sections.
The power requirement in W per square meter is the U-value x temperature difference
Rough calculation, power requirement for 20 degrees in the room when 0 degrees outside:
Roof: 1 x 20 x 34 = 680 W
Walls: 1.5 x 20 x (2.4x (7.2 + 4.8+4.8)= 1210 W (assuming an average U-value 1.5 and 2.4 in height on average and only calculating on one long side and two short sides if the other long side is against the house)
Floor: 0.25 x 20 x 34= 136 W (U-value 0.25 which is roughly what it becomes with 200 mm insulation).
Total: 2026 W
So you need just over 2 kW just to keep the conservatory 20 degrees warmer than outside. To quickly increase the temperature in it, you might need double that. If you want to be able to heat it even when it's -10 or -20, the requirement increases to 3 or 4 kW. However, my calculation is rough, and you can probably expect more losses, but if you have real data on the conservatory, that helps.
I think you would have trouble being able to lay that much power in a wooden beam structure. I recall that you can't lay more than 80W per square meter. Gives you 80 * 34 = 2720 W...
Of course, you can also have some convectors that can complement the underfloor heating to be able to increase the temperature faster. Or go with the stove idea. If you're going to have more electric heating, you need to make sure you have sufficient wiring there to be able to use 4-5 kW. It will become quite expensive to keep it heated for longer periods during the cold months. An air heat pump might not be a bad alternative?
Edit: I now see that the wall sections S30 isolent seem to have a U-value of 3.0 (https://www.skanskabyggvaror.se/uterum/uterumspartier/s30/isolent_s30-699). Then you have to double the power requirement for the walls... Then it becomes a total of 3236 W for a 20-degree difference... Then underfloor heating probably won't suffice at all, I'm afraid.
I can only find the U-value for the roof and none for the wall sections.
The power requirement in W per square meter is the U-value x temperature difference
Rough calculation, power requirement for 20 degrees in the room when 0 degrees outside:
Roof: 1 x 20 x 34 = 680 W
Walls: 1.5 x 20 x (2.4x (7.2 + 4.8+4.8)= 1210 W (assuming an average U-value 1.5 and 2.4 in height on average and only calculating on one long side and two short sides if the other long side is against the house)
Floor: 0.25 x 20 x 34= 136 W (U-value 0.25 which is roughly what it becomes with 200 mm insulation).
Total: 2026 W
So you need just over 2 kW just to keep the conservatory 20 degrees warmer than outside. To quickly increase the temperature in it, you might need double that. If you want to be able to heat it even when it's -10 or -20, the requirement increases to 3 or 4 kW. However, my calculation is rough, and you can probably expect more losses, but if you have real data on the conservatory, that helps.
I think you would have trouble being able to lay that much power in a wooden beam structure. I recall that you can't lay more than 80W per square meter. Gives you 80 * 34 = 2720 W...
Of course, you can also have some convectors that can complement the underfloor heating to be able to increase the temperature faster. Or go with the stove idea. If you're going to have more electric heating, you need to make sure you have sufficient wiring there to be able to use 4-5 kW. It will become quite expensive to keep it heated for longer periods during the cold months. An air heat pump might not be a bad alternative?
Edit: I now see that the wall sections S30 isolent seem to have a U-value of 3.0 (https://www.skanskabyggvaror.se/uterum/uterumspartier/s30/isolent_s30-699). Then you have to double the power requirement for the walls... Then it becomes a total of 3236 W for a 20-degree difference... Then underfloor heating probably won't suffice at all, I'm afraid
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Thank you, the underfloor heating was not intended to be seen as the only heating source for the room, only to create a comfortable temperature on the floor. The room will be opened up to the house, so the indoor temperature will extend into the room as well.
Nothing is decided yet, so we are still considering.
Nothing is decided yet, so we are still considering.
Regarding your first question about how to insulate the joist space, the energy calculation shows that the floor doesn't make much difference. Sure, with underfloor heating the floor becomes a bit more important, but the floor will still be so insanely much better insulated than everything else that it hardly makes any difference to the overall outcome exactly which solution you use there.
L Laggeman said:Hello everyone, tomorrow we will receive our ordered sunroom, about 2 weeks before the scheduled delivery date, and I feel a bit "in panic" since I need to make a subfloor before we can put on the room.
We have come so far that we have "everything" ready except for the insulation itself, and my question is what is most advantageous, to use foam or some type of wool as insulation?
There are 195 high beams, so some insulation also needs to go in.
A follow-up question, I've received mixed advice from friends and acquaintances about what kind of sheet to put at the bottom as well, everything from "subfloor sheet" to regular 12mm plywood soaked in waste oil to protect against moisture from below. Does anyone have a thought on what is a better choice here?
I thought of one more thing, is it a good or bad idea to lay building plastic over the insulation before laying the subfloor we plan, which is supposed to be flooring chipboard?
The idea is that we will lay underfloor heating on top of this and as a "top layer" we had thought of mosaic in the form of a lake stone type.
Very grateful for answers!