How much to heat our home?! 😬 Rotten conservatory, electric rads, and the log burner. Advice please!

[@MrEV]

Thanks to everyone commenting on this! Just a couple of things to mention: • Although the top wooden bars and some external cills are rotten, the internal beams and structure of the conservatory are fine - so it's not all quite as bad as it seems in the video I think. (Still a Money Pit though.) • Yes, we did have a full house survey before we bought the house, so we were prepared for issues like this. We like buying a place and doing it up, so it's all part of the 'fun'. That said, the quotes we're getting back seem higher than expected!

[@clivepierce1816]

As a retrofit assessor, I would strongly recommend you get an architect or builder who is Trustmark certified in retrofit to draw up a whole house retrofit plan and design for you. This is likely to save you a fortune in the long run. The retrofit philosophy is 'fabric first'. Forget heating systems until you know your building and its performance issues in detail, and you have addressed these with appropriate improvements to the building fabric.

[@johnhedge1429]

Google 'how to make a conservatory warm and comfortable'

[@1000ukjohn]

There's only one answer spend the money on a new conservatory with insulated roof and walls etc. After all its your home and if you do sell sometime it will be worth more. Or spend £5,000 and you'll still have a cold draughty garden shed! Keep well. John and Patricia.

[@ScoBrice]

Personally, I'd prioritise insulating the house over anything else to stop the money draining away from heating it. You'd have to do this anyway for the long term. You can do easier jobs just by learning from KZbin. The conservatory can wait until spring, especially if it's not that bad.

[@gerrymac5865]

There a saying James don’t throw good money after bad better to renew or you could look out for a good second hand conservatory

[@dolgorwel]

Having been in your situation 12 years ago and having to fix many problems with our house and a limited budget my advice is - play the long game , if necessary close off the conservatory until you have the funds to do it properly. When ready take it down and rebuild to current building regs standards. I wouldn't throw any money at it as you will probably knock it down and replace in the future.

[@seanduffy2214]

That conservatory has had it. I wouldn't spend a penny in it, trying to insulate that rotten glass box just won't work. I've learned over the years don't cut corners, do it once and do it properly. For heating I'd not do anything until youve sealed up the house and added insulation where you can. I did the same process and a bit of sealant, foam, door seals and draft excluders made a huge difference. Drafts are far more important than little cold spots in the corners. I found loads of issues behind skirting boards and under kitchen units - a fairly easy fix with spray foam. Your windows don't look that modern. I'd renew those if i had one big ticket item to spend on. And any hard floors add rugs - if your feet are cold you'll feel colder than you really are. Only then I'd look at the heating type as otherwise you'll oversize it.

[@0-Will-0]

I'd agree with most of this as good advice. Alternative to rugs is good cosy slippers, with rubber soles. I swear by these.

[@Lucasimo]

Very good points! You definitely don't want to oversize on a heat pump as they are expensive. Get the building sorted first ,- then consider it.

[@johankaal7769]

you considered burning the conservatory in the stove?

[@hmallett]

16:36 I love how Flaviana asks, “What do members get”? Then when Andrew explains, Flaviana looks like she’s thinking ”No, I would not be willing to pay for that”! 😂

[@cosmodoc]

You should get a bunch of your subscribers to help you sort out the property, in exchange for dinner with you and having your wife boss them around! What an adventure that would be 😂

[@Paulssock]

i'm in😆

[@ridders]

Honestly, you’ll learn more italian sitting next to Flaviana driving through Europe, than signing up for a Berlitz course.

[@mrv8rick2]

as long as we don' have to supply the wine🤣

[@avidviewer1]

Great idea! I wouldn't miss it for the world! 👍

[@cosmodoc]

@@avidviewer1 I don’t know for how long I would be able to tolerate Flavia’s orders, it would be worth a try😀

[@johnhunter4181]

Hay Andrew, I love your stuff and it was partly your video about the A/C at the previous house which convinced me to go that route. We now have two Panasonic Etherea 3.5kW units providing ALL the heating for our 5-bed detached. You won't get the £7.5k BUS grant if you aren't replacing a gas boiler. But our two units only cost £3500 fully installed so suggest you go for that again. Two mini-splits are cheaper than multi-split and give redundancy and versatility. What makes it work for us is the open plan house, insulation, triple glazing, MVHR - spend your money on those things first. Good luck to you both.

[@Treeburnify]

The conservatory is not worth repairing given that it will still leak heat like crazy, but it is the only “cheap” option although still significant expenditure. Cheap solutions are rarely a sound solution or investment when it comes to your own home. Best replacement option is to replace with a part glazed room , insulate the floor and any areas of half height brickwork, with a non-glazed insulated roof, but maybe with a lantern style skylight. This will improve the insulation levels, maintain light and achieve better year round comfort levels. As you have said, traditional fully glazed conservatories are a failed concept - too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Like another gentleman that has already commented, I am also a retired qualified building professional - as he has also commented, I would get rid of it and start again.

[@avidviewer1]

I'm really pleased that Flaviana's back to her usual self. Such a relief! 🤗

[@borama7845]

Team Andrew. It is best to avoid burning stuff, if financially possible. If you go the wood burning route, please make sure to install CO warners for little money. First priority: Don‘t kill your family❤

[@MP_pov]

Same as most other commenters - don’t bother salvaging the conservatory, plan to replace with extension within reasonable budget to add value and usable space all year round. Log burner is fine for occasional comfort if you use good wood you can get cheaply in bulk.

[@robcarver3080]

You have two separate issues. 1 safety. Glass, rotten timber, high winds, snow load. Take the conservatory down. Don’t try to save and re use the glass, custom frames to re use the glass will cost more than completely new units. You can live without the conservatory until you decide what will suit you in the future without the immediate pressures. 2 The heating costs. More urgent given the onset of winter. No conservatory to heat equals some saving. Spend time eliminating drafts in the house. Maybe exploring improved loft insulation. Both quick fixes. Both short term fixes that give you time to plan ahead as you get to know the house.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

I noticed that the front edges of the glass units seem entirely unprotected as well. I would also demolish the conservatory or at least keep it unheated in the winter. Then once demolished, start to look at financing an alternative.

[@mickinmerton8053]

My vote is Team Andrew. I've got a log burner and I live 10 miles from central London, I've stopped using it because of the pollution it causes. Regarding the conservatory, I'd rebuild using modern techniques, perhaps a brick or aluminium frame and a roof of PV bifacial panels. Enjoy your near home :-)

[@gaetanodademo2251]

Alora -As a fellow Italian and cabinetmaker and have just built my own house i would consider scaling back reducing the pond and spending the money on a solid extension or consider a sips construction good luck will be following your journey

[@lankylamp1]

i agree a sips extension construction kit would be a superior super insulated option with quick erection . especially if money and speed are limited.

[@mdshovel]

But will need Building Regulation approval .. unlike replacing a conservatory. Though I agree

[@gaetanodademo2251]

@@mdshovel No problem with permitted development rules its just like strapping a garden room to your house

[@markyates5744]

@@mdshovel in theory a single story extension to the back would be considered permitted development - but not 100% - and you'd probably have to be below a certain height. Luckily it's not on a boundary so you wouldn't have any boundary issues.

[@mdshovel]

@@markyates5744 that is just Planning Rules. It would still be required to comply with Building Regs ... where a conservatory would not and thus a lot cheaper.

[@Glenbow1970]

Park the pond, Thermally fix the the conservatory and get the heat pump, the energy cost on your current setup up with oil heaters will cost a fortune to run.

[@JohnRoss1]

We have a geothermal heat pump using pipes in the Earth as a heat sink. They also could just drop a loop of pipe in the pond and use that, much more efficient.

[@KiwiCatherineJemma]

That 19 thousand pound quote for a whole-of-home heat pump system including entire houseful of new water pipes, was the most expensive "Rolls Royce" option... even allowing for UKp7k rebate back from the govt. Yes those British type "Air to water" heat pump systems give you 4 kilowatt hour units of heat for every one kW/hr unit of electricity consumed. However far far far cheaper, something UK pounds 1,000 to UKp 2,000 each fully installed, you could install smaller "Air-to-air" heat pumps. The Yanks call similar systems a "mini-split" and the Aussies call them a "Reverse Cycle air conditioner". But in NZ they are just called "Heat Pumps". The newer types give about 3.5 kW/hr units of heat for every one kW/hr unit of electricity consumed, so yes they are very slightly less efficient than the 19 thousand pound whole of home plumbed pipework system. Every single room of the house does NOT have to be magically heated to identical warm temperatures so you can walk around inside wearing your bikinis. 2 or 3 individual heat pump units, installed in the 2 or 3 key rooms will give plenty of heating for a whole British house. Places like a bathroom can use a small fanheater, heatlamp etc if needed for a small amount of "top-up" heating on occasion. Yes I am NOT in England, but I have studied heating systems for years. an old British textbook on central heating said even a typical post war, smaller 2 story house is rated at needing just 7 kw of heating in total. 3 small individual air-to-air heatpumps consume about 1 kw of electricity each (total 3kw) and put out about 10.5kw heat equivalent in total. In these energy expensive times, that's adequate even if barely so, for a 4 bedroom house with 2 main living areas.. Remember those "oil filled electric"/infra red radiators you're using at the moment consume 1 or 2 kw of electric to give just 1 or 2 kw of heat output respectively.

[@darrenadams2640]

@@KiwiCatherineJemma It's worth getting a comparative quote for a A2AHP solution, and bear in mind that multiple indoor units on a mini split system can run on a single outdoor unit (though there is bound to be some sort of compromise for doing this). I have used a couple of these units at home for over 20 years and they benefit from great cooling too (haven't had a too hot to sleep night in all those years!)

[@rhyslatham3439]

I also wondered if an Air-2-Air heat pump might be the ideal answer. Could you duct the fresh warmed air through the loft, drawing the stale air out of the bathroom and kitchen then out via a heat exchanger. Not only might it be efficient, but would allow you to use the rooms as you like, without working around radiators, or having the floors ripped up for a wet under floor system. Doesn’t Mrs EV also like air conditioning in the warm weather? Oh Yes the conservatory, wait, call it a gazebo in the meantime… it’s toast.

[@markbusby7575]

You guys are fun to watch with your banter and squabbles. I moan about the £7 per day it costs to fuel our 4 bed detached (gas heating) but having heard your daily cost i'm going to stop moaning now 😊 We had a new conservatory built from scratch in 2022 and our priority was thermal efficiency, not just keeping the warmth in winter but also keeping it cool in summer. A glass conservatory will be pretty unpleasant in the summer if it takes full sun. We had a solid, highly insulated roof with lightweight tiles and one wall is solid brick. A lot of insulation also went into the floor. It cost £22k including all the groundwork. We have no heating in it other than what comes through from the house and it is really cozy even on the coldest days. Personally, I wouldn't be spending much on your current structure as i doubt you'll ever be happy with its thermal efficiency if that is your priority.

[@dougbamford]

We've got a pergola (like a conservatory with no sides) outside our back door and really love it! Great for watching the dog do his business in the garden.

[@bordersw1239]

Knock down conservatory, replace with an insulated garden office - do ground works yourself, pay for someone to install- £5k plus installation. A2A heat pumps for most of your heating requirements.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

Do not heat the conservatory in the winter, shut the patio doors and keep them shut. Check if the cavities are filled, grants available to fill. Obviously loft should be min 300mm. Check the windows/doors for draughts.

[@hamshackleton]

Aerosols of expanding foam will serve for this winter, to keep the draughts out of all the gaps.

[@cristianpetrache5064]

Use the lake for the heat pump ( look it up - water to water heat pump - more efficient than air to water hp. I think a 13kw should do the trick) , remove the conservatory all together and make a nice summer gazebo. Something simple that you can make with a mitter saw and an electric screwdriver. Put some solar on the gazebo and a nice barbeque in a corner. The heat pump will also cool the house in the summer.

[@0-Will-0]

A water to water HP sounds a very interesting option! None of the time and expense of digging up like a ground source.

[@markkunes9711]

The government grant for heat pumps don't allow cooling so you will have to find an additional £7.5k if you want that

[@neilhollow1937]

@@0-Will-0 Yes I wondering about that when money allows. I may not be big enough but if it was me I'd ask the question.

[@ianjacobs500]

I think you summed it up at the beginning, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, pull it down and focus first on the rest of the bungalow to get a more energy efficient heating system. Come back to it at a later date when finances are available to look at the options for the additional space.

[@rrlabastida]

I have had good results using magnetic thermal curtains from Amazon and neatly bubble-wrapping windows with double-sided tape. NOt the best but pretty cheap and can look ok if you take your time.

[@ingatestone100]

Good luck with the “ Fun project !” Forget the conservatory ( but just do enough that stops it falling down and plug the holes ) upgrade the house windows and sort out the other heat lose areas the log burner is only a problem if it’s not been installed or looked after properly and the wood used is not full of damp or resin, a wood burner like any vessel for burning fuel needs proper ventilation . And judging from the front glass of the Wood burner it’s either had very little use or well looked after including sweeping the Flue / Chimney . Stay warm and Safe.

[@themillers2142]

Hi … retired roofer hear ….. so as a short term thing I would tape the roof bars with flash band ! Use a heat gun to apply and clean glass first ! I have a conservatory which I found to be either hit or cold …. So what I did was stick 2x2 timbers using CT1 to the inside of the roof 3 ft centres then insulated with 50 mm solid insulation… Then clad the inside with what ever you want I used hollow pvc cladding… as it is so light….. Resulting in a much warmer and better insulated conservatory at not much cost …. I think it cost me about £700 a few years ago ….. ps you would be surprised how well 2x2 sticks to the underside of the glass !! Good luck Tony

[@alisterg3582]

House looks great and we’ve all been there with spiralling costs. I’m with team Flaviana on the log burner. At the moment it seems like instead of burning logs you are burning huge amounts of cash on electricity. Get yourself a bulk load of super dry logs delivered which should lower the concern on particulates - I reckon you’d save a fortune over the winter compared to full electric heating. I’d close the doors on the conservatory for the winter and revisit this next year when the unpredictable costs of a new place have settled down a little. Octopus Cosy might be an option if you can set the radiators to only come on during the off peak slots. Good luck

[@Bawdale]

Andrew, I admire your use of the community, it's the best way forward. I would suggest postponing the pond works and focusing on permanent home improvements that offer a financial return. Investigate green energy funding options, as many are not widely advertised. Begin with your mortgage provider, as some offer grants or interest-free loans. For a conservatory, I would only recommend it in a north-facing position with a fully insulated roof and floor. In your situation, I would consider a well-planned extension that enhances the ground floor living space. A quality extension can recover costs through capital gain. Next, prioritize installing a heat pump and improving insulation, as these investments also provide financial returns. The pond should be the last project on your list. I wish you good fortune however you plan to tackle the situation.

[@BrianWrenn]

Thanks

[@MrEV]

Thank you so much!

[@BrianWrenn]

@ might keep the heater going for 3.7 minutes, why would you not put Air2air in again?

[@ihampton]

Use the wood burner this winter. Get yourself an air quality monitor, the Amazon one is often £40ish during sale events. It'll make for interesting content. If the stove is in good condition and used correctly the impact to the air quality in your house should be negligible. It would also be interesting to monitor the impact outside your home, the PurpleAir map and external sensors look interesting. Given your previous love of Air2Air it seems like the logical choice, I'd prioritise that and solar over the pond or conservatory. Do whatever you can to make the conservatory safe cheaply and then worry about it in a future year.

[@heinzruffieux5817]

Hi, I am a Swiss home owner since many years. You guys are doing the right reflections considering money, environment and comfort. Regarding the conservatory (Wintergarten in German) I am in Team Flavia: It all depends on how long you plan to stay in the house. If the house is a long term investment, DO IT RIGHT - meaning rebuilding it from scratch and pontentially even with a PV glass, which gives you some shade in summer. A good conservatory will also improve the value of the whole house. Regarding the heatpump: Again it all depends on how long you want to stay. The price you mentioned for the pump and and radiators does not seem to be very high. This is a LOT OF WORK and material. But obviously I do not know the price levels in UK. My sister recently replaced the oil heating with a heat pump in Switzerland. The removal of the old heating and oil tank and installation and the heatpump costed some 50kCHF = 45k£. Again, a clean energy heating will increase the value of the house. Regarding the cheminée I am in team Flavia again 🙂: But not for everyday use. I use my "cheminée" quite a lot in winter. If you are burning proper wood and fire it up in the right way, I do not see too much problems. There is nothing more cosy than a proper wood fire. Your "cheminée" seems to be quite modern, so I would not worry too much about it. If everybody in the world would consider environmental aspects as much as you do, there would be plenty of "room" for a wood fire.

[@davidemodelrailway]

I agree with the comments, park the pond works, rip down the existing lean to structure and replace with a thermally efficient new conservatory. Dont throw good money after good. Good luck.🤞

[@JamesEley]

Completely empathise Andrew! We have a similar set up at ours with a 4 bed detached. No gas, all electric and an EV. It was storage heaters when we moved in, but when electric cost wasn't an issue we swapped it all for electric underfloor, which in hindsight wasn't ideal - although it is lovely. Our solution has been to insulate as much as possible, 4.76kw solar and 10kwh batteries. Which brought the bill down from £350. Month to £150 a month across the year (the monthly loan amount is about half the fuel saving). We then run the heating on full in the living spaces throughout the night on the cheap rate and then again during the 13p slots in the morning and afternoon on Tomato Energy's lifestyle tariff (We have used Octopus Go before but this fits our schedule better). While this isn't cheap (c £120pm in winter) or efficient, it keeps the house warm enough for us and the little one with occasional day time heating in the middle of winter. Over the next few years we'll add some air con units to improve efficiency but not priority number one at the moment. Hope that's helpful!

[@gohumberto]

Rebuild it using an insulated brick wall to about thigh height and modern glazing. Underfloor heating also helps.

[@mikelodge1957]

Andrew I would recommend a solid roof as it will take care of the expansion and contraction of glazing timbers, it's also more usable and the thermal value using insulation in the roof will really help 👌

[@JKSpoff]

Pull the conservatory down and build a brick extension with a solid roof, it’s far better insulated and can be used all year round. Extend your radiators into the extension. Get lots of builders quotes and use the quotes to barter between them.

[@neilr009]

Scrap the conservatory. I like the gazebo idea mentioned below, put the money into insulation and efficient heating. I have a good spec log burner which we use on winter evenings. Only burn properly dry wood, you won't get heat out of damp wood even though it might burn.

[@adrianpinsent3581]

Recommend going for insulated light weight roof on the conservatory. Air to air heat pump in the house 😊

[@davidparsons7929]

Carbon monoxide and particulates from log burners is awful. Beware. I am from a construction background so as for the conservatory - I hate to be the bearer of bad news - but it’s a ‘dead duck’ Waste no money on it because that’s what you would be doing. It’s unfortunate that you never made any allowance for it but it’s not salvageable. The whole thing has to go. Sorry. But if you spend £10-15k on that glass shed you will have thrown a really good chunk of money away. I know it’s not what you want to hear but trust me - I’ve been where you are and there’s only one realistic option - knock it down. I graduated in Construction and Building technology and was a Buildings Quantity Surveyor … retiring from my final position of Commercial Director due to Multiple Sclerosis.

[@givemethejob3293]

I have been testing particulates from wood burners. PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. Very little in the rooms, a slight spike when opening the door but soon back to the very low level. Outside it spikes until up to temperature. However, cooking a breakfast or even worse vacuuming your house will send up the particulates to off the scale of my test meter +500ppm and that's most of the day!!! It takes more than 8 hours to reduce back to low levels equal to running a log burner. Yes we should stop burning stuff but as with so much we are being fed a lot of untruths.

[@g.d2450]

​@@givemethejob3293 a lot of manufactured hysteria around burning fossil fuels at the minute when it wasn't that long ago the government was promoting it.... follow the money as the direction they're trying to point you is to only benefit them and their paymasters financially

[@Jaw0lf]

I would suggest the rip down and redo, as the base is not stable. We were able to fit a solid insulated roof to our existing conservatory that had a dwarf wall. We still find it gets warm in the Summer and cool in the winter, but adding to the heat is far less of an issue now and can be used with a little though. A sunny winter day will easily heat it enough, but in general we still treat it as a conservatory due to the heat loss we still get. Having said that it could easily be part of the house but you then need to be prepared to heat it more often. So this puts me in Team Andrew.....Also we have a wood burner and I don't like using it too often as the pollutants are pushed into the air! Also think again about the ASHP, is it worth looking at an air based system?? And I understand you on the USA issue.

[@Lucasimo]

Considering all the remedial work that needs doing I 100% recommend replacing the whole conservatory. Yes its expensive but much better result in the end. Youll be glad to choose this option. Trying fix something which is well past end of life is not a good idea and wont get you a very good result at the end. Use PIR 120mm thick boards with a vapour barrier for roof insulation. Make sure you get the floor insulated too. Consider having less windows in new conservatory or alternatively have same size windows and invest in decent curtains. Most heat loss is through the roof and walls. Im a time served energy manager for the NHS so i do these things on a much larger scale. Same prinicples apply though with fabric first approach. Leave the heat pump until later. Get the place sorted first before large investment in renewables. Other things you should do - all lights to LED, consider solar PV to lower your baseload as well.

[@FringaleABloc]

My air quality meter already goes haywire (pm2.5) when i open a window when one of my neighbours is burning wood. I wouldn't want it in my house unless it was truly necessary.

[@alancashion5344]

I agree with those that say you should get rid of the conservatory all together and replace with more suitable form in the future when viable. The additional outside space would also reduce the need to change the size of the pond in the short term anyway. Hopefully, the cost of heat pumps should reduce in a few years time also.

[@philbushell6024]

Given the price of a A2W heat pump, probably worth investigating an A2A heat pump. Similar efficiencies obviously and you also get cooling in the summer.

[@stuartj5520]

Definitely. It would save the cost of plumbing the house for radiators. Plus, as you say, it would act as air-conditioning in the summer. Even with a few indoor units, it should be much cheaper than the A2W heat pump install

[@michalvala9736]

Hello, I'm from CZ, so area with slightly different weather (warmer summers and colder winters than in the UK). As for the context, we have built a house 5 years ago. It's made of bricks, insulated by polystyrene (floor, walls) and fiberglass (roof). It's heated by electricity (heating wires installed directly in floors everywhere, not heat pump), from time to time we use log burner as well (mostly for mood during winter evenings). Our energy consumption is around 13MWh per year. There's everything - heating the house, warming up water, normal household usage of electricity. The first thing I noticed in your video was, how cold floor in the conservatory was. You can fix the construction but it will always need a lot of energy to heat up. The problem is, you need to insulate the floor, and also think about the amount of glass. If I saw correctly, you have double-glass panels, so it's not horrible, but still - normal wall or roof provides better insulation than the best glass. It also depends on how much sunlight you have in the conservatory. The glass does not insulate very well, on the other hand, it lets the sunlight in, which can heat up the space enough. But, as I said, I'm from different climatic zone, so my opinion on this might be completely wrong. As for the log burner - we have it in the living room. It has air intake from the outside (there is a hose under the house going directly to the logburner), and the amount of air is controlled by electronic flap driven by thermometer in the burning area. I know there is a big discussion about PM2.5, and honestly, I'm not sure if we can simply put together numbers from old outdated log burners and the modern ones. I'm not specialized in this field but I would take all information with a grain of salt (or maybe more grains). As for CO danger - here we must have our chimney checked every year so I know it's in perfect condition. Also, the air flows from the outside directly to the burner and then to the chimney. So the risk of getting some CO or CO2 inside our house is nearly zero. You have asked for advice: I would advice to insulate the house as much as possible. As for the conservatory, I would probably just fix the construction but would use it during summer only. But it depends on how much space the rest of house has.

[@hamshackleton]

Not very constructive, sorry - but I'm surprised your surveyor didn't point the collapsing conservatory to you, before you even thought of signing! Looking at the green bricks, that side of the house faces north - or is heavily shaded by trees, anyway, so doesn't get much sunlight. Best solution - scrap the conservatory and start again! - - Then beg, borrow or otherwise - a few ducklings - which will eat all that weed on the pond - and some cheap goldfish which will eat all the mosquito larvae. - - The log-burner, disregarding the cost of buying logs, (you are NOT permitted to burn 'garden' wood, it has to be dried) - you have to cope with all the ash generated - as well as all the particulates and soot! - - Re the environment - look how tiny the UK is, compared with the U.S., Russia, and China, all heavy coal-burners - then think what difference to the world our little country makes in this feeble rush to zero carbon blah!

[@mancman9418]

We had our conservatory (4mx3m) roof insulated for £1200 and it is now usable all year round. A small oil/electric heater is sufficient. OK, ours is not wood, so we have no rot issues. Firstly, I would make your conservatory safe. Sort out the pond next year - put it on hold. Use the log burner this winter and look at options after winter is over. We use ours for a few hours when it is really cold - use it too much and it can be expensive. Ultimately, I would replace the conservatory with a more permanent structure (an orangery??), but that is not cheap. Good luck!!

[@devonfuse]

Apart from the base, sides and roof, that conservatory is fine.

[@johnhandcock1677]

I see the thermostat set at a subtropical 21C, this explains a lot

[@buddywheels]

Hi folks, I think the conservatory has had it. We are in East Sussex, no gas by choice , using all electric and a thermal store boiler to run the heating 👍 Happy to talk you through/show you if you like. I posted earlier with links which I think got the comment flagged.

[@AllElectricHouse]

Your best bet is rip the conservatory down and start again. Make do with it for now and save some cash(if you can) and then get it replaced properly. You also want to try and get your heating costs down as spending the amount you are for electric is just crazy. Get yourself plenty of wood and make better use of your log burner for now. In our old house we had a log burner and we used it more than any other heating and it kept the house warm enough for now, but you really want to get a ASHP as soon as you can afford it.

[@AL-ib3lu]

I'm with Andrew on the log burner & regarding the conservatory keep the sliding door closed to the rest of the house & use the conservatory as a heat loss barrier.

[@LaserFur]

I'm in USA zone 7 so it's really cold and I use off peak storage heaters, but where you are a heat pump might be a better option for the house. And I would forget that ad on since it's a lot of glass. Where I am it's less expensive to mix 3.5K and 5K color temp LED lights to make a bright inside area. Also note that Fiberglass insulation alone looses it's R value due to thermal piping when it gets cold. So 5% cellulose insulation on top fixes it. edit: also note that if you are using electric to heat a place you can run as many lights and computers and tvs as you want and it won't change the power bill since it all adds to the heat.

[@neilhollow1937]

We don't heat ours in winter. Have some of the same problems with rotten wood and that lead stuff on the top but on ours these cover the main beams that are OK as are the sides. The main problem is the ugly polycarbonate roof. We looked at PV glass but were worried it would fall in on us - surprised yours has a glass roof with wood supports. Hoping some kind of plastic PV will appear to replace polycarbonate with... sigh. Would patch it up and concentrate on the main house.

[@benstradling7615]

My parents had a similar problem with their old conservatory , what they did was get a double skin wall build on a concrete slab all with insulation the wall is around waste high then glass all round except for one side which is a solid wall the roof is a regular roof with two glass panels it's just like a conservatory but is the same thermally as the rest of the house , it does get a bit hot in the summer if you don't keep the doors and windows open but in the winter it's great they do have an electric heater in there and use it all year around it was built on the foot print of the old conservatory so no planning permission required , might be something worth thinking about . Burning dry wood is perfectly fine it's something we've always done for heating

[@stuartgifford8672]

I am definitely Team Andrew, as someone who nearly died of Asthma attack twice caused by pollution should definitely ban wood burners, in fact stop burning everything, we are in 2024 not 1884.

[@MrEV]

My god - that's scary. You must hate this time of year when the air gets smoggy?!

[@kmartin73]

@@MrEV when the carbon Monoxide alarm goes off for the first time you will certainly think again about using the fire.

[@lookoutleo]

Tapes called flashband. :) You need to completely dismantle it and either replace the wood or the whole conservatory . You could get an air to air minisplit to heat your living room. Best to get your mates to help you take it down and make each wooden part and reassemble. Alternatively you could try and pick up a second hand PVC conservatory, you can get them very cheap just for a few hundred pounds on gumtree as folk are building extensions where conservatory was. Do you have total heating total control power. If so make sure your radiators are connected to the cheap electric, same with focal point heater in living room and electric shower. People with electric heating are in fuel poverty as mains gas is subsidised by it. Here in the Scottish Highlands most people are on electric heating that's why airsource heat pumps are great, look on appliances direct , they do a 2 zone heatpump for £1000 , I have single zone version , cost £650

[@stuartgifford8672]

@ Moved out of London breathing is so much better, thankfully live in the countryside now and very happy. And decided to put head in the sand and not look and the news which has made me 100x happier as well 😊

[@Tom-bp6no]

​@stuartgifford8672 In the countryside here everyone burns wood and coal, so it's much worse than the cities where most use Gas heating 😂 Small Towns which aren't on the Gas grid are pretty terrible for smoke also.

[@constructioneerful]

I think the log burner psychological thing is the most intriguing. Well worth exploring - involve an academic psychologist? My relatives are the same.

[@johnfenn3188]

I’m with both of you. You have two problems it seems to me. I think you have a short term problem, in that you need to have a waterproof conservatory. I think that is the best thing. As cheap as you can. Then you need to decide what you really want. And you’ll have to afford that somehow. There are some really nice conservatories. Some friends of ours used theirs as a dining room every day with a couple of fan heaters on the coolest days. But it was as well insulated as possible and with a sensible roof and brick below the windows. (They’ve moved away now - not because of the conservatory! I agree with Andrew about the wood burner. If you’re remotely asthmatic, just don’t!

[@stuarthorwood2101]

Get the heat pump, replace the conservatory in brick and aluminium then fix the pond when you can afford it. And in no circumstances instal loft spray foam insulation

[@givemethejob3293]

You could replace the conservatory with a SIPS construction, quick to put up and 1/4 of the cost you would pay for a £25k conservatory. Fantastic insulation built in.

[@nickline6888]

Team Flaviana 🎉😂 Concentrate on the house and put the pond on the backburner. Knock down that conservatory and start again, looks like it's past saving to me. And spark that burner up till you have your heating sorted how you want it 🔥

[@fbsing]

Use that log burner too, simply close the door and the bad stuff goes up the chimney. My sister in Lincolnshire has a very similar setup, they use the conservatory all year round - it’s not the warmest for sure , but usable space for entertaining, and a log burner that is far more economical than I imagined (they indicate such) and is also smoke free (smoke free logs). I wanted one for our home too, but our place is super warm just using a heat pump (and solar with batteries) - that didn’t come cheap but I’m very happy as our utility bills were similar to yours when we moved in and now I only really utilise electricity at night in the cheap rate time (battery and car charging and hot water heating)

[@jcflippen1552]

Been there in the past. We turned crap wooden conservatory into garden room ‘office and edit suite ‘ - £25k. This project is more important than the pond as it also adds value to the house. Wood burner ok for this winter then re - evaluate . Looking ahead how about Toshiba hot air for heating/aircon there’s a KZbinr ? and Kate who raves about it for cost value.

[@stephenwensley]

I’d patch up the conservatory with wood hardener, if necessary epoxy wood filler & glazing sealant to get it through the winter at lowish cost. I’d also switch the infrared space heater for either a heated office chair or a heated cover/blanket over the chair. Then plan for a replacement extension when finances allow.

[@stephgray]

We’ve done the conservatory roof thing this year with Supalite on a big conservatory (about 20k - definite improvement and feels very solid - same U values as new build), switching double glazing units to A rated glass (3k) cavity & loft insulation (3k) and a heat pump install (12k with grant). Definitely vote Team Andrew on the log burner question 😂

[@rhencullen]

If you’re disagreeing about the log burner, why not get a 60 quid PM2, VOC Air Quality monitor like a Temtop to check the particulates in the room ? For the conservatory, if you’re keeping it, it feels like the most important thing to start with is to secure the structure, and that definitely needs the uprights and supports sorting out first. I’d possibly think about using a warm air blower in the conservatory to heat it while you use it to eat in rather than an IR panel, then close the door afterwards when you don’t need to use it. The oil filled rads are a cheap option for portable heat, but they’re always going to eat electric if they are the main heat source. If you’re wanting the whole house warm, then it,feels like a whole house connected heating system is what you want, not a room by room separated system, but that means connected rads or underfloor and neither are cheap when starting from scratch. If it were me, I’d get a prioritised list of options together. Primary has to be safety, then costs.the conservatory isn’t safe as it is so that needs sorting, but 21 quid a day for heating is going to cost you a ridiculous amount of cash between now and spring. - secure the existing conservatory structure so that it’s safe with no fear of glass collapsing. Live with the current structure for now until you can afford your ideal option, but keep the door closed when it’s not in used and use an air blower space heater when you need to use the room. Use the diy insulation even if it’s not the nicest look for now to get you past this winter. - what’s the insulation state like, is the loft space well insulated? Make sure the insulation level is good, get everything possible draught proofed and try to bring the heating costs down. - get an EV charger in, to both help reduce your car charge costs and open up EV tariffs, and then shift to a cheaper EV tariff. - maybe then get a battery system installed so you can charge it overnight on cheap EV rate and discharge into the heating during peak to help reduce heat costs. - in the spring, aim to get solar installed to help reduce grid usage further. - sorting the separated room heating and putting in a full house system is never going to be cheap. You have the advantage of only having one floor to worry about, and so it’s easier to run piping if you go for a liquid rad system but it’s not going to be cheap though longer term is probably the way to go with an efficient heat pump.

[@johnfreshwater3790]

Have you considered a heat pump. We live in a 220 year old 200 sq metre solid stone house and a well installed heat pump is far cheaper ti run. We only had oil heating and now we heat the property cheaper than before and haven't used the log burner since this was fitted in 2020. As for your conservatory we have a garden room which has all glass but a solid roof and this had all rotten wooden window frames and I changed these by using oak posts to hold the roof up and then UPVC windows between. The units were 1200 quid and the oak posts were 500. The glazing units were a rated so have argon filled and the coating on the internal glass. The room is far warmer now. As for your price for the heat pump have you tried octopus for a quote as they seem to be reasonable although I fitted my own for about 6k

[@PaulF-65]

We went through the same thing with our conservatory. In the end I watched KZbin videos and replaced everything but the panels. That’s was 4 years ago. We were qouted 6-7k for the replacement roof. It cost me under £500 for the materials. I do want the imitation tiles and had a quote of under 5k very recently. I think you will see some massive variation in quotes so keep searching. Good luck 🤞

[@JohnnyMotel99]

I have a conservatory too but I leave it unheated all year and close the door in the winter.

[@mikebarry229]

If your conservatory brickwork is OK (and you dig down alongside and find better than half decent foundations) a lightweight warm roof is certainly an option alongside replacement UPVC glazing to the conservatory, and perhaps extra wall insulation. Needs Building Regs but that is usually a rubber stamp job with most councils. Not cheap so only worth doing if the brick parts are worth saving, and you like the space layout and style of the existing. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people who have had this type of work done to their conservatories and pretty much everyone was delighted with the improvement in comfort and usability. Only negatives were occasional less than brilliant builders jumping on the bandwagon. There are loads of proprietory systems, designed to keep the total roof weight close to the original glass so no extra load on foundations. The fake roof tile ones look surprisingly good but personally i have my reservations about those longer term as they are pressed sheet steel with a granular coating and just cut to size with tin snips. Personally i prefer the ones that use an artificial slate so a little more standard roof covering material with known life expectancy.

[@ianphilpott5164]

As many others have suggested don’t do anything to repair the old conservatory. I would consider rebuilding with a timber frame, timber clad outside with standard sized doors and windows with a proper flat roof with big roof light to let the light in

[@andrewturnbull7690]

I previously had a conservatory and it was uPVC with polycarbonate roof, learned the hard way that the issues with these as you say cold in winter, sauna in summer etc. When we moved house we had a garden room extension added with proper roof. Was a lot of money but boy it was worth it, we live in it continuously. The state of your conservatory from my experience with wood it would be better to scrap and put the at least 5 grand towards a new one, there will be always another issue found when they start to work on it. That is money you have to pay out straight away, with a proper extension you should be able to do what I did and get a mortgage extension so the cost of it is spread over the life of your mortgage.

[@JimmySelgenNielsen]

Considering your options, the wood burner seems like a great way to get through winter. Wood is CO2 neutral over a decade or so (assuming new trees are planted), but comes with its own issues in terms of air pollution. It will most likely not kill your family, even without a CO2 meter/alarm. The hot air and CO2 will follow the laws of thermodynamics and go through the chimney to the much colder air outside. As for radiators, I have no idea. Maybe a couple of small air to air heat pumps. Oil based electric radiators are no better or worse than regular electric radiators, and you get 1 kWh of heat for 1 kWh of electricity, so basically a COP of 1. It’s hard to judge the size of the house from a video, and maybe a single, well placed, heat pump can do the trick, and then keep the oil based radiators in the rooms. Keep doors open when you can to let the heat pump do its thing, and the radiators can then take over during extreme cold, where you’ll most likely get a COP of 1 on the heat pump anyway. We have a single Panasonic heat pump in our summerhouse, and it reliably heats 69m2, though the rooms furthest away are usually 1C-2C colder than the living room. We have regular electric radiators in the rooms as well. The electricity consumption is anywhere between 3 kWh to 20 kWh per day.

[@gerrymac5865]

I would definitely knock this rotten structure down but shop around for new conservatory quotes a local company near me quoted me £12000 FOR A 4MTR x 3Mtr upvc new conservatory, so my advice shop around my friend even managed to buy a very nice ex display conservatory for under £10000. Good luck with your task.

[@BrendonBoshell]

Your main priority is getting some form of central heating in. Electric resistance heating will cost an absolute fortune in a house. Everyone recommends a heat pump, which is great if you can get your property well insulated. If you can't, you need to get connected to gas or oil. Your monthly bill is so high the ROI of any option is worth it.

[@petedee7847]

I converted my conservatory into a dining room - to make it thermally efficient, you really need insulation in the floor, and thermally efficient/treated glass in the roof (double or triple glazed), which traps heat in the winter and reflects heat in the summer. A small heater or radiator should then be sufficient to heat the room when needed. For me, this was ~£12k including tiling/plastering work. Of course that wooden frame needs replacing too!

[@petest3992]

Replace the conservatory with Light Guage Steel Frame lean-to. Do a self install? of air conditioning system which can be used to heat as well as cool the building.

[@BryanQA]

We pulled our conservatory down, wasn’t worth repairing or rebuilding, and built a garden room instead, my youngest daughter uses it for her office when working from home, and it’s also used as the wife and daughters craft room

[@VisionMakerUKLimited]

with everything else that the house may need to keep it efficient, close the door to the conservatory. even if you do nothing and leave that as a "cold box", having that "cool the rest of the house" will be a big issue. keep that internal door shut and keep what heat you have in the house inside. The conservatory is of 0 insulating value, so it's like keeping your back door open and wondering why I have no heat. Then if you still have issues thats a wider issues with the house. But as per the other comments, knock it down and replace, or just turn it into garden space! Good luck!

[@dcvariousvids8082]

It’s still standing but patching up, is still a patch. If you’re going to be in the place 10yrs., trash it and start again. You could always have it removed and not replace it immediately. As to the pond reduction. I suspect it’ll not be easy and will be very messy. It’s not like you can just fill in part of it. It’ll have to be emptied, not just of water but if accumulated sludge and wildlife. The present liners removed, re-modelled, relined, planted and filled. I’d say, leave pond for the moment, providing it’s not leaking. Remove the conservatory but don’t replace immediately. Spend the money on further reducing cold spots. Find out if the roof space is properly insulated and if not, top it up. The biggest bills for now, will be the heat loss. Minimise the loss and get yourself sorted with incoming energy supply. Then concentrate on other stuff later.

[@chalaischiot]

What way is the conservatory facing, if it is south then it will be too hot in summer and very cold in winter. My advice is don’t rush things, that is the temptation when you first move to a new house. Especially the garden, wait and see what plants you have in the garden. If you have neighbours with a conservatory facing the same way ask them, how there’s in summer and winter, and what sort of use they get out of it. It looks like the previous owners didn’t use it a lot, because of the condition it is in. I would also look at what the cost of having an extension would be. Just to compare prices.

[@ChrisJakins]

Going for AC heat pump would be a bit cheaper to install than air to water as probably know from before. As others have said the conservatory looks like it needs to come down. My opinion on log burners is they aren’t ideal but if you know it is burning properly I would use it to get through the first winter.

[@srichgtr]

You can use wood hardener and cut out crap wood and replace it then shove wood filler over the gaps. Would do in the short term while you decide what to do. You can buy the roof bars quite cheaply as well. Had to do that to mine as it was exactly the same. Looks ugly but the glass hasn't fallen out yet. The veranda solution with uprights and roof so it's semi open is probably the cheapest to tidy it up. If you heat it as a normal room it's going to be a money pit. Better to go air to air for the heating too with a few of the oil filled electric radiators for extra heating.

[@davidmorley7495]

For the conservatory it does look like it is irredeemable at this point. Spend enough money to limit the short term cash flow hits, even if it isn't perfect (that might include ripping the thing down and having a patio+gazebo for a few years). Then start with spending money on things that seriously improve cash flow. I'm an advocate of a negawatts-first policy, no matter how efficient a heat pump is it isn't going to beat no heat needed. So insulate, insulate and insulate, seal up all the cracks, use spray in open-cell or closed-cell foam (may need professional as that is dangerous if inhaled) and lots of fibre-glass or cellulose for the attic. It's been a few years since I dealt with UK building codes, but I always got the impression they were woefully short of best practice so you need to go way beyond that. Also add temporary secondary glazing in rooms if the windows aren't up to much (hard to tell from the videos) I used a simple plastic film (and a hair dryer) and it doesn't look anything special but limiting the drafts can make a huge difference during the upcoming winter and can be removed easily as only held with sticky tape. New double glazing is rarely cost-effective from a heat saving perspective. The goal is to massively reduce those Octopus bills before Greg Jackson starts sending you Christmas cards as such a great customer. FWIW if the house is well insulated then you'll have little need for a log burner, we have a wood fire place and it gets used at Christmas as a fun thing for the family not to provide meaningful heat to the house. In my household I didn't find discussions about PM2.5 helpful, but cleaning the fireplace and fetching wood in from outside gets old quickly. The heat pump (the pond may make a good ground source solution if it is deep enough), but you need to seriously think about what that looks like. Under floor heating may make more sense than a wet system since you currently have a blank slate. Radiators need higher temperature inputs than underfloor systems, that forces the heat pump to work much harder. Though I've heard that Octopus do have an air source heat pump optimized for radiators it is still less efficient but is cheaper than replacing existing radiators with underfloor systems, but that isn't your problem. I have mini-split heat pumps in a couple of extensions and they work brilliantly year-round (with good insulation) despite sub-zero temperatures but the vent in the room is an eye-sore, (so won't have them in the main areas) but if you can get them put inside the walls, floors and ceilings you might find that the year round heat and cooling is worth the expense. Sorry but the pond (even if it is a little overwhelming at the moment) isn't a direct risk to the house and your budget so that has to get de-prioritized.

[@COSolar6419]

The cold climate two zone mini split heat pump we installed almost three years ago was $10,000 US. At the time there were no tax incentives like what currently exists in the USA. That was for a 1200 sq ft home in Colorado. That is probably the way to go for home heating. I’ve relied on wood stoves for heat. The only way it is cheap is if you have a big wood lot next to the house and have loads of free time to cut, split and move the wood. You’ll also need a chain saw and good medical coverage in case of accidents.

[@Paul-yh8km]

If the roof was the only problem I would have repaired it myself. Given the whole structure is a problem I would remove it and build an outside room. Basically a canopy that allows you to eat outside with the entrance to the house at the rear weatherised. You then have a cheaper build, somewhere to use in the summer and you don't have to heat it. The floor can be decking, or pavers etc. You could also plant some climbers to grow up the supporting posts. The canopy should help keep the rain off anything stored there.

[@evodessey]

I’m team Andrew on this. If it was my conservatory i’d rebuild it myself since i have a most of the skills. Still would be quite a cost in new wood though. And you probably want hardwood to make it last.

[@adamsher86]

It may be worth getting it repaired for now so it’s solid and weather proof. Conservatories generally are too hot in summer and freezing in winter. Eventually I would change it to have a solid roof with radiator and it’ll be nice and cosy. We used to have one on our house and in winter we never used the conservatory!

[@markkunes9711]

We have a North facing conservatory that was too hot in summer and too cold in winter. I realised the main heat loss by far was through the roof. We had a local firm replace with an insulated roof with white ship-lap panel finish inside and black plastic tiles on top. it is still nice and bright througougt the year. Since your wood is rotten I would get the carpenter to quote for replacing wooden props and get an insulated roof fitted. We also had Octopus put in a heat pump and they put larger rads in all downstairs rooms including the conservatory. The temperature is 1 degree lower in the conservatory than the rest of the house so OK. As you have electric heating this is a no brainer - I think you can get a loan from Octopus for this. When a plumber came to fix a leak he looked at my previous DIY attempt and said "that looks a bit moody", which amused me. We had roof quotes of between 5k and 16k - we took the lowest - they didn't put as much insulation as the others but it is fine. Our COP is currently 3.5 but will go up when more heating is needed. The present COP includes heating the water which isn't as efficient. Keep the log burner in case the electric fails - we have had an open fire in all our houses since I was a kid but intend to cut down now we have the heat pump.

[@malcolmchrzanowski3288]

Hi. We have a bungalow and have tried various ways to heat our home but the last 3 years we have had Air to Air heating put in and 19Kw battery storage system 2Kw more of solar panels giving us a total of 6Kw of solar panels. The sun changes up the batteries or when we have no sun we change of the mains on of peak electric ⚡️ last night it has cost me £2.75p for 24 hours.

[@stockdale1]

Park the pond. Close the conservatory doors. Use the wood burner with C02 monitor this winter. Then demolish the conservatory and insulate the house as best as possible and get the heat pump. I’ve got an orangery with UFH in an adjacent room and house heating is £4 gas a day this Nov. Your vid gave me the willies 😮

[@mdshovel]

CO1 not CO2

[@celynjones6239]

Andrew, I think your wife is brilliant!! Whata girl !! As for suggestions, you need to agree if you want a conservatory, yes or no. If yes, bulldoze it and have one that you both like and suits your needs. As for the ‘lake’ in the back garden, either charge the public to paddle up and down in it 7 days a week or make it a 12’x8’ pond and enjoy the goldfish! As for heating, put in a gas combi boiler and radiators in every room (you will only need it winter time 3 months of the year) if you want to upgrade in the future, you may be able to use the gas boiler stuff that will be already in place. I don’t know the circumstances around your mortgage and it’s none of my business but you could advance borrow over say a fifteen year period you could even consider solar panels and battery storage as well. If it’s not your forever home then it’s gonna be a £12 bill per day until it ends. Good luck to you both and lovin’ the vlog!

[@chunkybeats79]

I'm a architectural designer and I used to live in UK and I'm originally from there. One thing I hate conservatories, they are the worst design for a house and terrible thermal efficiency. They also have poor weather tightness. I highly suggest a moveable lourve roof with multi pane glass walls. Not sure if they are available in UK but it's the norm in NZ / Australia.

[@CarolSteele]

I would build a 3 or 4' brick base (dual thickness with cavity and inner insulation panels). Build brick corner pillars up to roof height with one or two more spaced equally between them. Then double glaze (or even triple glaze). Tiled roof with solar panels with battery storage. Nice curtains inside with thermal (detachable backing). Make sure the run off from the gutters is fed directly into the pond. The amount you would be saving on electricity plus the surplus generated from the solar would help pay for the renovation over time. The more work that you can do yourself, the cheaper it will be. I knew nothing about brick laying - but Google is your friend and I managed to terrace my gardens (5 walls roughly 20metres each on average) and saved thousands of £££££s. Good luck Andrew, I hope it all works out well

[@ShelfsideOllie]

'i'm not burning shit...' - Love that. Totally agree! - Enjoy your lovely new home guys, the problems are a moment in time, you'll get there :)

[@stevescott9289]

A quick thought. How about octopus cosy? The on oil heater controls might be good enough to deal with that right now, and you have at least some thermal mass with the oil

[@jbarnett1949]

Thanks for another entertaining video. I think the conservatory is beautiful, but as most have said, not practical. Burning wood is beautiful, but it does pollute. Ah, the sacrifices we must make. Best to your family.

[@nickph1357]

Do not waste your money on that rotten conservatory, when you can afford it replace it with an insulated sun room of your choice. Have you considered a storage battery to make more use of off-peak electric. Also if the wood burning stove is properly fitted and sealed, the gases go up the flue and the heat comes into the room. We love our wood burner in the winter. Wishing you well in your new home and hope to see you at a Sussex EV meetup. Cheers Nick.

[@waylaid]

Don’t know how much they cost but companies like Okopod now do pre-fab wooden extensions as well as garden offices. It would be properly insulated. Might not be much £££ different from a new conservatory.

[@Richard.Frost.01]

I think the sensible and safest solution is just to remove the current structure. Eventually you can put up a more practical solution. Forget the pond for now, focus on the house. Getting the heating sorted in the house would be my first priority. Would underfloor heating be an option?

[@blobstrom]

I would knock it down and start again, you can insulate the floor properly, maybe build the walls up then have uPVC windows and have an insulated roof and floor, maybe make it bigger if you can. Having glass all round will help bring in light still. I insulated my conservatory a few years back with Superquilt insulation, it made such a difference summer and winter temps too. Edit. That glass can easily slide out and looks very dangerous

[@timj11dude]

Quiet possibly the best option, if they take the long view on money saved heating offsetting the loan required.

[@mebrown101]

Agreed. Get a proper building - likely not much different in £ to a bespoke conservatory which is not a long term solution imo

[@djdeag]

Have a look at air to air heat pumps (air conditioning with heating) although you don't get the £7.5k grant, can still work out cheaper than getting radiators etc installed everywhere.

[@steveyoung8376]

build a floating office on the pond! but a raft and then garden room in the pond