Thread: Solarium Hot as H E double L

Owner, who now has to sell, put a solarium on his home last spring that included covering over part of his vinyl siding on the side of the home. The patio which has a surface of paver stones surrounds the three sides of the solarium. Summer's heat warped and "melted" a lot of his siding within the solarium so the place looks like it's out of science fiction movie. Seems his salesman did not tell him how hot these things can become even if some of the windows are left open. His thermometer that he put in there when the windows were closed had maxed out at 140 degrees so he doesn't know how hot it could have gotten. He said that even with the windows open and the outside temp around 80 or better it will still get absurdly hot on sunny days. It can hit 90-100 on a cloudy summer day with temps of 75-80.

Additional info: windows are double paned, there are awning style windows with crank openers about three feet up from the floor, the floor is ceramic tile, the frame is bronze metal, no signs of water or air leakage.

He's looking into shades and/or awnings to cut down the heat. He had some questions that I could not answer.
1) Do all solariums do this?
2) Is it typical for them to be sold or quoted without any shading? How effective will shades or awnings be?
3) Was this a manufacturer's defect or are there companies that can ensure that they have the insulating ability without resorting to the extra costs of shades and awnings?

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1) Do all solariums do this?
Do what, get hot? If they're in the Sun, yes.

2) Is it typical for them to be sold or quoted without any shading? How effective will shades or awnings be?
Shading a Solarium defeats the purpose of a sunroom, although you can certainly add awnings to cut the heat buildup. Is this just a porch, or is it a greenhouse?

3) Was this a manufacturer's defect or are there companies that can ensure that they have the insulating ability without resorting to the extra costs of shades and awnings?
This sounds like an installation issue, or a misunderstanding on the part of the installer. I would expect an experienced Solarium or porch dealer to know these basic design principles and advise the client accordingly.

Does this room have glass walls and glass skylights? What part of the Country are in located?

I imagine adding some shade, increasing ventilation, tinting the glazing, and decreasing reflective energy would help a great deal.

Dom.

Originally Posted by WT Dees

He's looking into shades and/or awnings to cut down the heat. He had some questions that I could not answer.
1) Do all solariums do this?

As Dom said, Yes.

2) Is it typical for them to be sold or quoted without any shading? How effective will shades or awnings be?

Yes, shades are effective. If you've ever seen these rooms added to restaurants, they are unbearable without shades - which is why they all have shades, down most of the way. I've seen many with 'shaded shades' (for lack of a proper or better term) - shades which are mostly solid with the rest of the area open slits, think of them as 'tightly woven screens' - they block most of the sun out, but not all of it.

3) Was this a manufacturer's defect or are there companies that can ensure that they have the insulating ability without resorting to the extra costs of shades and awnings?

Those rooms are designed to bring extra heat in during cooler months, they apparently do that well.

During the warmer months, though, shading is needed to keep those room cool enough to be usable.

And, yeah, they will melt vinyl siding, but, then, it does not take much to melt vinyl siding.