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How to Improve a Sunroom

• Add operative skylights.   Skylights bring additional sunlight into the room.  Roof windows and skylights should generally face north, east, or west.  South facing skylights will turn your sunroom into an oven.  Operable skylights can let the heat out if the room gets too warm.  To light space evenly, use several skylights spread out over the roof.

• Vents and ceiling fans.  Many experts recommend installing vents or ceiling fans or both in your sunroom roof to draw the heat into or out off your house more efficiently.  Choose ceiling fan models with forward and reverse speeds for summer and winter use. 

• Intersperse roof panel.  Put prefabricated insulating roof panels among the glass roof panels.  Look for R factors of R-16, R-24, or R-32 (the higher the number, the better the insulation quality).  Install more insulation in the ceiling than usual to keep the room more comfortable both summer and winter.

• Sunroom roof and walls.  A typical sunroom or solarium has a glass roof and walls.  If your sunroom is in the area with major exposure to the sun, you might want to consider partial overhead glass or making just the sunroom walls of glass.  If you live in snow country and your sunroom is located below another sloped roof (which dump snow into the sunroof), you might consider partial overhead glass or roofing instead of glass.  If your sunroom is an extension of your house, consider using standard roofing material to match your existing house.

• Operable windows.  Construct walls so that several windows open.  Choose those that will work together to allow for maximum ventilation.  The more windows you can open, and the wider you can open them, the more control you will have to regulate the temperatures in your sunroom.  Place windows to take advantage of prevailing breezes.  Outside shade screens are available from the manufactures and can be installed over the roof of the sunroom to filter the sunlight before it reaches the glass itself.  Also, the sun’s path is higher in the sky in summer than in winter.  Take advantage of this fact by adding overhangs above windows.  The depth of the overhang should be that the window is shaded during the middle of summer days but not shaded in the cooler seasons.  Your local architecture firm can help you determine the proper size window overhangs for your sunroom.

• Window treatments.  Choose window treatments that can be raised or lowered completely along the most problematic wall areas.

• Doors.  Sliding glass doors, which have one fixed panel and the other glides along top and bottom tracts can be a good choice for sunroom as an entry way.  They sealed out the weather and let light in.

• Lights.  Depending on how much of the roof is made of glass, installing ceiling lights to light the area might be an option.  Remember to add electrical switches and outlets for all your needs.

• Knee walls.  Knee wall is just a short wall about knee height.  If you want your sunroom to feel more like a room, you might consider the knee walls.  You can also run electric lines through a knee wall.

• Flooring.  All glass rooms tend to cool quickly in the evening and may over heat early in the day.  Install masonry floor such as concrete, tile, or stone flooring to even out the temperature swings in your sunroom.  Heavy flooring materials will soak up passive solar heat and radiate it back slowly into your sunroom.