heating options for a patio enclosure

tarheelblue · 11-17-2008, 10:40 AM

Our home we bought here in NC has a glassed-in patio enclosure off the back. Its made by Champion. Previous owner had it put in over the deck to keep out the bugs. Its a decent room, although it does not have the insulated glass as it was never meant to be "all seasons."

I "finished" the room off to make it a playroom for my two little boys. That is, I put down subfloor and an indoor/outdoor carpet. Those guys would stay out there 24/7 if we'd allow. That alone has made it much more enjoyable, and warmer.

As I said, we live in NC. So they get to spend a lot of tim in it April-October. Its a little hot mid-day in summer, but we have multiple fans out there. Now, I am trying to extend its life a bit into shoulder months like November/March. Now I am realistic since the glass is not insulated that it wont hold a ton of heat. But I was thinking about baseboard. Its cheap, relatively easy install (excep for how to wire 3 or 4 to one thermostat...)...and I am really just trying to take the chill off a bit. They are never gonna be out there in January, for instance.

Questions:

1) Does baseboard get so hot I need to worry about it melting the Champion enclosure? They call the "vinyl" enclosure afterall....although it feels like alumnum to me. I have no clue what its composition is since I ddnt have it installed.

2) Are there any other heating options I should consider?

What about Infrared Patio Heater you see mounted on the walls of patios at restaurants? Thats really the only other thing I can think of....and they might look kinda funny out there....And I worry about mounting it on the masonite siding that forms the back wall of the patio room. Is that safe?

Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,

THB

hvaclover · 11-17-2008, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarheelblue

Our home we bought here in NC has a glassed-in patio enclosure off the back. Its made by Champion. Previous owner had it put in over the deck to keep out the bugs. Its a decent room, although it does not have the insulated glass as it was never meant to be "all seasons."

I "finished" the room off to make it a playroom for my two little boys. That is, I put down subfloor and an indoor/outdoor carpet. Those guys would stay out there 24/7 if we'd allow. That alone has made it much more enjoyable, and warmer.

As I said, we live in NC. So they get to spend a lot of tim in it April-October. Its a little hot mid-day in summer, but we have multiple fans out there. Now, I am trying to extend its life a bit into shoulder months like November/March. Now I am realistic since the glass is not insulated that it wont hold a ton of heat. But I was thinking about baseboard. Its cheap, relatively easy install (excep for how to wire 3 or 4 to one thermostat...)...and I am really just trying to take the chill off a bit. They are never gonna be out there in January, for instance.

Questions:

1) Does baseboard get so hot I need to worry about it melting the Champion enclosure? They call the "vinyl" enclosure afterall....although it feels like alumnum to me. I have no clue what its composition is since I ddnt have it installed.

2) Are there any other heating options I should consider?

What about Infrared Patio Heater you see mounted on the walls of patios at restaurants? Thats really the only other thing I can think of....and they might look kinda funny out there....And I worry about mounting it on the masonite siding that forms the back wall of the patio room. Is that safe?

Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,

THB

Plastic and electric heat don't mix well. I would Use a standard water heater and run some floor convectors or install a small garage type heater the indirect vent model.

Marvin Gardens · 11-17-2008, 11:53 AM

Electric baseboard heaters cause a lot of fires. People put cloths or other stuff on them and they catch fire. I am not a big fan of baseboard heaters.

I agree with hvaclover. Under floor hydronic heating is efficient and heats the floor which will radiate nice even heat.

Solariums are great and I don't blame your kids for wanting to live in there.

dac122 · 11-17-2008, 12:39 PM

What about a PTAC unit that has no backup electric elements, or can be configured to never run the backup elements? I think the air discharge temp shouldn't be too hot, will be pretty efficient, should help take the chill off, should require less wiring (if any), and will even give you some cooling/dehumidification for the summer.

hvaclover · 11-17-2008, 01:03 PM

i was thinking of running the convectors along the wall.

not in the floor.

Marvin Gardens · 11-17-2008, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvaclover

i was thinking of running the convectors along the wall.

not in the floor.

That would work also. Running some pex, some heat exchanging plates a nice kickboard, and a small recirculating pump from the hot water tank.

kennzz05 · 11-17-2008, 03:38 PM

i second the ptac (ductless split system)its certainly the least complicated of the other suggestions and i dont see any reason to disable the strip heat in it some dont even have strip heat and will provide a/c in summer also and id think it would be close in price. just my two cents...