When adding a sunroom addition to your house, one thing you need to decide is whether or not you want to heat and cool the new home addition. If you decide to add heating and cooling to your sunroom addition, the way I see it you have three options. One would be to tie into the existing system in the house which is the most preferred option. Another option would be to install what is called a mini-split unit. The final option would be one of the through the wall units in like you see in a hotel room. If you are adding a prefabricated sunroom addition the only option would be the unit you find in hotel rooms.In order to connect a sunroom addition to the existing system in your home a professional would have to do what is call a “load test.” What they do is take the cubic footage the sunroom addition is adding to the total cubic footage of the existing house and plug those numbers into a program to determine what size unit would be required to handle everything. The number and quality of the windows of the house and the sunroom addition also make a difference. After putting all of this together you know whether or not the current system will be able to handle the sunroom addition. If not, you can increase the size of the main unit or chose another option. If you add a prefabricated sunroom for your addition tying into the existing unit is not an option.The next best way to heat and cool your sunroom addition would be to use a mini-split unit. These units are specifically designed for additions like a sunroom and the best part is that like your main house system, all of the noise is outside. On the inside of the sunroom addition you have a nice quality looking grill with controls that almost blend into the wall of the sunroom. The condenser and anything that makes noise is outside of the addition. The temperature of the sunroom is controlled by a separate thermostat that is part of the mini-split unit. If the wall of the house where the sunroom is added is opened up, the mini-split can even help regulate the temperature of the adjoining room.
The final choice and not necessarily a bad choice, is a thru the wall style heat and air conditioning unit for your sunroom addition. These units are the most affordable and can do a fine job controlling the climate in the sunroom. In a prefabricated sunroom addition this might be your only choice. The downside of using one of these units is that the ambient noise in the room goes up and if you’re not careful the temperature of the sunroom addition won’t be balanced.
That’s it for your choices heating and cooling your sunroom addition. Consulting with a qualified Class A contractor for all of your home addition needs will help ensure that the best option is chosen for your particular situation. Sunroom additions are very popular and having your addition built properly and with all the correct materials will make it your favorite room for many years to come.
For more information about the history of sunrooms, click here.