Most of us have at least one room in our homes that the rest of the house seems to have given up on. It’s freezing from October to March, turns into a sauna by July, and no matter what you do to combat the changing temperature, nothing works.
The culprit is almost always the same: central heating was designed for standard, well-insulated rooms with normal-sized windows. It was never built to cope with a glass-roofed conservatory, an uninsulated garage, or a loft conversion perched just below the roof tiles.
These spaces need a different approach – one that treats them as the distinct climate challenges they actually are. Portable heaters, dehumidifiers, fans, and air conditioners have all upgraded in effectiveness in recent years, and when matched correctly to the space, they can transform a room previously unusable for half the year into one of the most comfortable and versatile spots in the house. This guide breaks it down, space by space, so you can take full control of your home.
Why these spaces behave differently
Central heating systems are engineered around a set of assumptions: walls with cavity insulation, double-glazed windows of a fairly standard size, and rooms that sit within the thermal envelope of the main house. When any of those variables shift dramatically – as they can with a conservatory, garage, or converted outbuilding – the system drops significantly in effectiveness.
The problem is almost always two-directional. In winter, heat escapes far faster than a radiator can replace it – through glass, uninsulated walls, or gaps around doors. In summer, the same poorly insulated structures absorb and trap heat rather than releasing it. The result is a space that sits at extremes, and the solution requires understanding which specific factor is driving the problem.
The conservatory
There is perhaps no more British a home problem than the conservatory that’s virtually unusable for eight months of the year. Historically built with polycarbonate roofs and single-glazed or lightly double-glazed panels, conservatories were designed to maximise light – which they do. The downside is that glass and polycarbonate have very low thermal efficiency. In winter, they conduct the cold almost as readily as they admit light, while in summer, they trap the sun’s heat like a greenhouse.
South- and west-facing conservatories are particularly vulnerable to overheating, as they receive the most direct sunlight throughout the day. Without intervention, interior temperatures can climb well beyond comfortable.
The most structurally effective long-term fix is upgrading the roof – either to thermally efficient glazing or a solid insulated roof system, which can reduce heat loss from a conservatory roof by as much as 80%. This is a significant investment, however, and may not be the best starting point.
In summer, start with shading. Thermal blinds reduce solar gain significantly and can make a conservatory feel several degrees cooler, and a good portable air conditioning unit with a window venting kit provides active cooling for the hottest days. Good airflow is important – ceiling fans or pedestal fans help circulate air and prevent stagnant, stuffy heat.
In winter, standard convection heating struggles, since warm air rises and escapes quickly through the glass. Infrared heaters are often a better fit for conservatories, warming people and objects directly rather than heating the air – meaning the heat isn’t immediately lost. Oil-filled radiators are another option: slower to warm up, but they continue to radiate heat long after they’ve been switched off. Damp is also a common conservatory issue: poor ventilation leads to condensation and, over time, mould. A dehumidifier tackles this directly and helps the space feel warmer and more comfortable.
The garage
Where it once housed the car and a lawnmower, the garage now frequently doubles as a home gym, workshop, recording studio, or remote working space. The problem is that very few garages were built with habitation in mind. Walls are typically uninsulated, floors are bare concrete, and the large roller or up-and-over door – often the biggest single surface in the room – is a significant source of heat loss.
Before investing in climate control equipment, it’s worth addressing the fundamentals. Insulation boards applied to the inner face of walls make a meaningful difference to how quickly the space warms up and how long it retains heat. Choosing a garage door with a good U-value (the lower the number, the better the thermal performance) is another high-impact upgrade. Rubber matting on the floor acts as a buffer between you and the cold concrete.
For heating, electric fan heaters are popular in garage spaces because they warm the air quickly and are portable. Oil-filled radiators are more efficient if you spend extended periods in the space. In summer – especially in a gym context, where body heat adds to the ambient temperature – a portable fan or compact air conditioning unit is worth considering. Condensation and damp are also a major issue with garages, particularly those used for storage or containing any kind of machinery. A dehumidifier keeps moisture under control and protects both the room and its contents.
Lofts, basements, and garden rooms
Converted spaces vary enormously in construction, but share one defining characteristic: they sit outside the thermal and mechanical reach of the main house. Whether it’s a loft bedroom, basement study or garden room, each has its own distinct challenge.
Loft conversions sit at the top of the house, which means they absorb heat rising from the floors below and bake in summer – the roof absorbs solar radiation all day and releases it slowly through the evening. Good roof insulation during the conversion is essential, but for spaces that are already built and underperforming, ceiling fans can circulate the warm air that pools near the apex, and portable air conditioning units provide active cooling during heatwaves. Humidity can also be a problem in loft spaces: the ideal indoor humidity range is 40–60%, and anything consistently above that creates conditions for condensation and mould.
Basement conversions have the opposite problem. Being below ground, they stay naturally cool year-round – which is an advantage in summer but a challenge in winter. Natural ventilation is limited, making mechanical ventilation important, and the risk of damp is higher than in any above-ground room. Dehumidification is often the single most important tool in a basement: managing moisture levels keeps the space warmer, reduces the risk of mould and protects the fabric of the room. Electric panel heaters or underfloor heating are the most popular active heating choices, as both distribute warmth evenly without occupying floor space.
Garden rooms and outbuildings present yet another scenario: they’re physically separate from the house, which means they’re off the central heating circuit. Well-built modern garden rooms come with decent insulation as standard, but even so, they need their own dedicated climate control. Electric convection heaters or wall-mounted panel heaters work well for smaller spaces and can be controlled via smart thermostats, allowing the room to be pre-warmed before you arrive. For dual-season comfort, an air conditioning unit with a heat pump function handles both cooling in summer and heating in winter.
Choosing the right solution
With so many product types available, the key is matching the solution to the actual problem rather than buying the first thing that looks plausible.
The most common area of confusion is whether to buy an air conditioner or air cooler. Coolers blow air over water or ice packs to produce a localised cooling effect. They don’t require any external venting, but they don’t actually lower the room temperature – they provide relief in a specific spot. Air conditioners, by contrast, genuinely cool the room by expelling hot air through an exhaust hose. They require access to a window or external vent, but they’re the only appliance that will meaningfully lower the temperature of a space on a hot day.
With dehumidifiers, it’s easy to underestimate how much humidity affects perceived temperature. A damp room always feels colder than the thermometer suggests in winter and more oppressive in summer. A dehumidifier – particularly a desiccant model, which works effectively even in colder, unheated spaces like garages – often makes more of a practical difference than additional heating or cooling alone.
Many modern units combine cooling, heating, fan-only, and dehumidification modes in one appliance. For spaces that need year-round management rather than seasonal fixes, a 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 unit is a cost-effective and space-saving choice. Look for models with smart app control and programmable timers – being able to pre-cool a conservatory before you sit down to lunch, or pre-warm a garden office before you start work, makes these spaces genuinely easier to live with.
Treat them as real rooms
The rooms that central heating can’t fix aren’t lost causes – they just need to be approached in the right way. It’s a question of identifying which combination of insulation, moisture control, and targeted climate appliances will make this specific space liveable in every season. Start with the most problematic season in your most problematic room, and go from there. In most cases, a well-chosen appliance or two – matched carefully to the space – will do more than any amount of turning the heating up and hoping for the best.
0
Leave a Reply