One of the most important issues that impacts the overall usability of a sunroom or room addition is defining the way a family wants to use the room.   Many people don’t spend enough time thinking about this issue.  For example, do you need additional year round living space?  Or alternatively,  is the best use of your new sunroom a 7-9 month use?  The answers to these simple questions are frequently not so simple, since each family may have a unique plan for the new space.  In a professionally designed room the answer to the above question reflects in a series of changes to the design, materials, and optional features.  Energy efficiency,  solar heat gain, aesthetics, architectural features,  temperature stability,  sound isolation, maintenance and upkeep,  and  overall satisfaction with the sunroom will all  be issues that can and should be addressed in the design and construction.  Some companies simply pack as much glass as possible into every sunroom, and this strategy inevitably results in a large number of unhappy users, since a sunroom with 95% glass will in many cases either be the coldest room in the house or the hottest room.  The solar orientation of the room and amount of summer tree cover can have a major impact  on the summer comfort of the room, and should be a feature of the design.  Multiple design alternatives and window choices can improve the comfort level of the room in both summer and winter.

Steve Folsom