Every conservatory is different. Some are built in the shade of stately trees. Others are built right out in the southern sun and take a full hit of infrared waves daily. Keeping a conservatory cool requires pre-planning. Keeping it cool with the modern conveniences of automated conservatory features is a luxury that cannot be underrated.
In past articles, I have always compared a conservatory to your car. OK, I know you don’t grow hibiscus in your back seat, but the extremes of hot and cold can be similar to that of any glass enclosure.
In the past, I have also commented that a company who builds a structure with no consideration to mechanical design would be like a home builder forgetting to install a furnace and air conditioner.
So, we agree on the varying extremes in temperature and that attention to that detail is absolutely required. How to protect thousands of dollars of conservatory furniture, or the tropical plants from those elements?
Automation allows a homeowner to control ventilation, watering schedules and lighting all with a click of a button. We can even connect these features to your lap-top, computer, or i-Pad. Many refurbishment projects have added these automation features as an easy upgrade.
Conservatory Blinds and Shades
Many of you have conservatory blinds. Many of you do not and are needlessly suffering through the scorching rays of the sun. Sourcing blinds specifically made for slope glazing is tricky in the United States. Your local window treatment company will not have the correct products to hang from a ceiling and if they do, the price is probably quite inflated.
Pleated Shades
How would you like it if the blinds moved up and down based on temperature, time of day or sun intensity? How about if you could put the blinds up from your office and watch the whole thing on your video monitor? We offer all of this to you.
Temperature
Some days you may leave the house and it’s 20 degrees outside. The day warms up, the sun is intense and soon it’s 90 in the room. Is air conditioning a reasonable idea if its 20 degrees outside? Of course not. We can automate fans so windows open, roof vents open, fans come on and temperatures cool down. Of course, the reverse is true and all of this will shut down before the conservatory gets too cool.
Roof Vent
Naturally, we can also control the heating and cooling system to make sure temps are adequate for your room any time or any day. From your laptop or i-Pad you can see the current temperature of the room and set it to any desired temperature.
If temps in the room go too high or too low, hi-lo temp sensors can be installed to warn you of the condition.
Watering Systems
Automatic watering can be accomplished by setting timers to come on numerous times each day. Small spaghetti- like tubing will feed each plant and provide the plant with a prescribed amount of water. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Go on vacation and never have to worry about who will water your greenhouse garden.
Lighting Design
- Individual lighting for plants
- Mood and safety lighting
- Landscape lighting