Do Conservatory roof blinds work?

Conservatories are renowned for being cold damp rooms, the large windows and glass or plastic roof letting heat leak out through the winter, or in the summer causing a greenhouse effect. It’s becoming increasingly common for homeowners to look for solutions to the fluctuating temperatures, as well as other issues, and to insulate their conservatories and make them more usable all year. When looking to insulate their conservatories, many people consider conservatory roof blinds as they are a relatively cheap option. Compared to other options available conservatory roof blinds are easy and quick to install and can be fairly aesthetically pleasing. But do they actually work as an effective insulator? We’ve been looking into whether conservatory roof blinds work and the pros and cons of having them fitted.

So, What Are Conservatory Roof Blinds?

Conservatory roof blinds are window blinds designed and fitted to the roof of the conservatory and come in different styles. One option available to home owners is bespoke blinds that fit inside each frame and just cover the one panel. Other options include larger draping blinds that cover multiple panels. They can come in a variety of materials, from wood slats to roller or pleat fabric and conservatory roof blinds are all adjustable in the same way window blinds are, some being manual, whilst others can be electronically controlled.

Insulating Properties

Conservatory roof blinds do offer some insulation to conservatories, varying in efficacy depending on the type of conservatory roof blind. The conservatory roof blinds will help to block the sunlight and heat in the summer, preventing the greenhouse effect that makes conservatories unbearably hot, and create a barrier in the winter to keep the heat in and stop it from escaping through the cold glass or polycarbonate roofing. The efficacy of the insulation will depend on a range of factors, from the type and size of conservatory, which direction it faces (and therefore how much sunlight hits it) and style, size and material used for the blinds.

Compared to other methods, conservatory roof blinds are not as effective at insulating, with options such as insulated roof panel replacements being a much more efficient option.

Soundproofing

An issue many homeowners have with their conservatories is that the level of noise, in particular during heavy rainfall, is unbearable and makes the conservatory unusable. Fitting blinds may help some way to reducing the noise in the conservatory as the material will act as a dampener to stop the noise reverberating around the conservatory, although the type of blind will dictate how well the conservatory roof blinds work as conservatory sound proofing. The thicker the material used the better the sound dampening qualities.

Glare & Sunlight Protection

Conservatory blinds work well to block out sunlight and prevent glare, often being adjustable to allow control over exactly how much sunlight comes in. This can be beneficial as often an issue homeowners have with their conservatories is glare from sunlight, making it uncomfortable to sit in the room or, making it hard to use screens such as televisions or computers in there. The sunlight can also cause furniture and furnishing to fade overtime costing homeowners money to replace furniture. Conservatory roof blinds will work to block out the glare and lessen the fading making the room a more comfortable place to spend time, but unlike some options like tiled or solid roofing they wont block out all the light and make the room too dark.

Aesthetics

Aesthetically, conservatory roof blinds work well, allowing the room to stay bright and airy without being too imposing and they can be retracted and be almost completely hidden from view if need be. Conservatory roof blinds can come in different colours and styles to suit different home designs and décor and can be changed relatively easily and cheaply to suit decor updates if the homeowner so wishes.

Unfortunately however, overtime conservatory roof blinds can become dusty, dirty and may lose their shape or start to degrade like regular window blinds do. Cleaning conservatory roof blinds is harder as they are up on the ceiling making them trickier to get to and so the blinds are more likely to become unsightly due to dirt and dust build up. Conservatory roof blinds made with certain materials may also lose their shape over time making them hard to use and just look unpleasant and make the conservatory look uninviting. Unlike solid roofing option like Insulated panels, which are made from much more durable materials and will last much longer without losing their aesthetic appearance and don’t collect dust or dirt and so generally won’t need cleaning.

Use 

Though conservatory roof blinds work well to block out light and do have some insulating properties, they can be fiddly and fragile to use. As they are on the ceiling, handling may be less frequent and so damage from wear and tear slower to build up or less common, however the delicate pully systems or motorised systems can become worn overtime and break down. Once the drawing system is damaged it can make it hard work to adjust the conservatory roof blinds. Similarly, once certain types of blinds have lost their shape, it can make them difficult to open and close properly.

As they are hard to reach repairing or replacing the conservatory roof blinds can be fiddly to do and so opting for a longer lasting solution may be a better option.

Pricing

The price of conservatory roof blinds depends on the style, material, mechanism as well as the conservatory itself and how the blinds fit. Conservatory roof blinds made bespoke to fit inside the roof frames, rather than just spanning across the panels, will be more expensive as they are made custom to fit each unit and with different shapes for all conservatory roofs this could mean fiddly designs and one off creations.

The pricing of conservatory roof blinds could be considerably cheaper than other options, such as insulated panels or tiled/solid roofing, but depending on the style chosen can still be quite a pricey option, especially taking long term repairs and maintenance into account.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in terms of insulating efficacy, conservatory roof blinds work to a certain degree, although are definitely not the best option available, although may be one of the more affordable. They aren’t as hard wearing or long lasting as some of the other options either, though are very effective at sun protection and reducing glare, whilst still maintaining a good amount of control over the light allowed into the conservatory, giving the homeowner the ability to adjust the amount of light to suit, something most other insulating conservatory roof options don’t offer.

The mechanics of motorised blinds can be useful and make the blinds a convenient and accessible option, though this can also put them at risk of breaking, and over time the conservatory roof blinds may become dirty and lose their shape, affecting the aesthetic appearance in the conservatory.

Alternative

As mentioned above, there are many different types of alternatives available to insulate the conservatory roof, the most effective being Insulated Panels.

These panels offer the homeowner a fast, lightweight solution to the issues a conservatory presents including severe temperatures, glare & fading furniture, and noise issues. Green Space Uk’s insulating panels are made from aluminium sheets wrapped around thick insulation, making them extremely strong but extremely lightweight and suitable for most conservatories.

Like bespoke conservatory roof blinds, insulating panels are made custom for each conservatory and simply slot into the current framework, replacing the pre-existing glass or polycarbonate panels.

The strong aluminium means that they will last much longer than conservatory roof blinds, polycarbonate or glass panels would, with dirt and dust build up, water damage or damage from debris being less of a concern.

Green Space Uk’s insulated roof panels are an excellent option to lower heat transfer and reduce the fluctuating temperatures that pose a problem in conservatories. With a U-Value of 0.29 they are better than Triple glazing, Solar Glazing and Poly Carbonate of all thicknesses making them a great option for homeowners looking to make their conservatory a more comfortable room year round.