Home extensions such as conservatories and orangeries are a coveted addition to any property, but anyone who has been wanting a new conservatory will now need to prove they don’t create ‘unwanted solar gain’ as part of new climate change regulations.
The climate crisis means that the UK is likely to experience hotter, drier summers that can reach temperatures of 40ºC, which can lead to conservatories being unbearably hot.
From this summer, any new conservatory being added to a home will have to show that it will not overheat, as part of measures that aim to future-proof homes against rising temperature, reports the Hertfordshire Mercury.
The new rules, which come into effect in June and follow calls from environmental groups, will lion window size to a specific percentage relating to the floor area of a room and house. It will also be dependent on the direction they face and how at risk the home is from overheating. However, it will not include extensions.
Rico Wojtulewicz, the head of housing and planning policy at the National Federation of Builders, said: “We can build heavily glazed buildings but smaller companies who do a number of different housing types on one development may avoid it, due to the potential cost of the dynamic thermal modelling on each home.”
He added that conservatories may become ‘premium’ products, as lower-priced firms ditch them from developments, and the new rules could see home designs become more standardised as builders seek to avoid different layouts.
If you’re looking for information about traditional conservatories, visit our website today.