Greenhouses, Sheds and Sun Rooms - Sun Room Not Usable

My house has a sun room that connects the detached garage to the house and is approx 500 sf, the problem is that it is not very usable, to hot in the summer to cold in the winter. This room is made of 4 x 8 sheets that are stytofoam in the middle with metal on the outside and paneling on the inside, connected using aluminum channels, is there a good way to make this more usable or would it be better to tear it down and start over.

Thanks for the help.

Big Swede

There are a lot of other factors besides the walls that enter into your problem. Windows -- Single pane or dual pane? The roof or ceiling over this enclosure -- what is it and how well is it insulated? The garage wall it is attached to -- insulated or not?

I am guessing this is either a 2" or a 3" (thick) wall system, and that the aluminum channels (H's) between the wall panels aren't thermally broken (solid aluminum from the inside to the out). Aluminum conducts heat very well, year 'round. Addressing the areas I mentioned above will help, but it will still be pretty inefficient as long as those "H's" are in place. (Probably the same situation for the window and door frames.)

Lefty, the windows are dual pane but very old and the whole southwest wall is windows and a 8ft sliding glass door. The roof is made of the same material as the walls it is 4" thick. It also has 4 skylights. The garage is insulated and I'm sure the H channels do not have any thermal barrier. I think the room is about 20 years old. I had thought about putting some kind of insulation on the outside and covering it with vinyl siding, would this help, I would also need to replace the windows. The main thing is, is it worth the effort or should I tear down and start over.

Thanks

Big Swede

With all of that old glass, the room is gonna be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Low-E glass would greatly reduce the heat transfer (year 'round), but that was simply not as available 20 years ago as it is now. Replacing the windows with ones that have Low-E glass would certainly help.

You mention a metal covering on the outside of the wall panels, and possibly putting vinyl siding over it. That would be an option, but make sure you put a layer of stryofoam insulation under the siding. (I would use Thermo-Wall.) That would also provide you with a thermal break for the aluminum framing channels.