We hear all the time from people that they are concerned about conservatories being too hot in the summer months.

Everybody seems to know a friend or relative who has had a uPVC conservatory and can't use it for much of the year, because its either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.

Well, to be honest, if you don't specify your conservatory correctly and make the right buying decisions, you may just end up buying one yourself.

The facts are that if your conservatory is south facing, and you just order a conservatory with normal glass, standard polycarbonate, and do not consider proper ventilation you will have a conservatory which is unusable on hot days.

However, there are many products on the market which help prevent the heat entering the conservatory in the first place. For example, we use Smart Poly in most of our polycarbonate conservatory roofs, and Solaris glass in the wall frames. For those wanting a glass roof, we can also install Solaris glass in the conservatory roof. Solaris is designed to reflect the sun's harmful rays and keep the conservatory at a manageable temperature.

You must also consider ventilation, and roof vents are the best way to help heat escape from the conservatory. Heat rises, so an opening in the roof has to make a difference, but plenty of openers in the wall frames will also help.

Then there's air conditioning, but I tend to think that in a time when everyone is concerned about saving energy, this is a unnecessary expense if the conservatory is designed correctly in the first place.