Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - how to heat a Champion patio room/enclosure?

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

How is the rest of the house heated? I installed an electric baseboard heater for someone a couple years ago. There are ways to wire them in series. I haven't heard any complaints. I don't think it will melt anything.

Heating is one thing, keeping the heat is another. The floor obviously needs to be insulated, but there is nothing you can do about the glass not being insulated, so heating will be an expensive operation. On several sunrooms I have built, the owners have opted for an in-the-wall heat pump to augment the home's HVAC system. It operates like a wall air conditioner, but will heat as well. It is mounted low on the wall, so if you have a panel you can cut, maybe you could mount one there. It will require a dedicated 240 volt 30 amp circuit, so that is another consideration.

Heating is one thing, keeping the heat is another. The floor obviously needs to be insulated, but there is nothing you can do about the glass not being insulated, so heating will be an expensive operation. On several sunrooms I have built, the owners have opted for an in-the-wall heat pump to augment the home's HVAC system. It operates like a wall air conditioner, but will heat as well. It is mounted low on the wall, so if you have a panel you can cut, maybe you could mount one there. It will require a dedicated 240 volt 30 amp circuit, so that is another consideration.


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thanks, guys. the rest of the house is gas furnace.

again, I am just trying to take a bit of the chill off, especially in the AM. the glass room heats itself well on sunny days, even in winter due to it getting a lot of light.

"in the wall heatpump." not sure I know what that looks like. I will look into it. now that's different from an electric Fan Forced Wall Heater ?

someone else suggested and infrared wall heater (made by Desa, at HD)...might check that out.

What about solar panels?
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What about solar panels?
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had not considered those. thanks. where can I read more? how they work....cost to install...where to buy....etc

We've built sunrooms (insulated floor, walls, ceiling, insulating glass) where we installed the in-wall ac/heater units that Larry mentioned. We also did one where it just had an electric wall heater (goes between the studs) with it's own thermostat. One woman decided she liked to use a little portable electric space heater over the $1200 wall unit that we installed for her. She figured it was cheaper to operate and still did the trick.

how to install solar electric panels (http://www.solarexpert.com/instroof5.html)

More on solar panels. ^^^^^^

My Champion room is set up for three season with the double pane glass. We use a through the wall combo heat pump / A C with about 10 K btu in either mode. I pulled the 220 and had it ready when the electrician wired the rest of the room. He gave it his blessing and so did the inspector.

Just to show you what the in wall heat pump would look like, and with no advertising intended, nor any solicitations accepted (that's for the moderators), click onhttp://www.chandlerscarpentry.com/projectsone.html
and see one on a project to see if you would like it.