sun room with vinyl windows and low e coatings.
solar heat gain coefficients .30 or less.
nfrc has stickers that post these numbers.
if the windows you are looking don't have this
sticker...shop another brand.

best of luck.

We have a screened in porch at our current house and it has nice during the spring & fall; too hot to use during the summer even with two ceiling fans because it is on the northwest side of the house. What I haven't enjoyed is cleaning the layer of pollen that covers everything in the spring. We live out on about 6 acres where the mosquitoes & wasp are very plentiful. Somehow the wasp still manage to get in the screened porch.

We (empty nesters) are currently building in the middle of a farm and the house overlooks a pond. I decided to go with a sunroom, as it will stay much cleaner and be less work. Also, we can enjoy it year round regardless of the weather. We live in central AR. Another benefit will be the family holiday gatherings where it can be converted to extra eating space or a place of the kids to play.

We enjoy our SE-facing screened porch. Nice to feel the breezes and hear the birds, toads, insects. It has a big shade tree on south side of it. Two skylights in the East angle of the roof keep the adjacent breakfast room and dining room bright.

We also use our LR a lot. It faces south, with a wall of French doors and gets plenty of sun in winter. How is a 'sun room' different from a sunny room? I'm thinking 'conservatory' or 'glass house' -- both much too hot for me.

Some time ago a poster wrote about making his porch out of vinyl-frame storm doors set side by side (with no handle-holes drilled). In summer he removed the glass panels. This looked pretty, wouldn't need painting, and was somewhat pet-proof because the doors had about a foot of solid material at the bottom.

nanj,

I have a pic saved of a sunroom that was done using sliding glass doors instead of windows. Let me know if you would like me to find it and post a pic for you.

jbrig - Yes, that would be great - would love to see it.

Here's my experience:

Currently have a screened porch in Virginia and absolutely love it. The roof along with ceiling fan keep it cool and it's bug free. Also, the house blocks the setting sun.

My only experience with a sun room was when I was stationed in England which, in the summer, is a colder climate. Hated it. It was much too hot in the sun room, more like a greenhouse. Too cold in the winter to be useful.

Just my two cents.

Newer solariums and conservatories are much better at being temperature controlled.

If I were going to spring for a sunroom instead of a screened porch, I'd go all the way and get a solarium or conservatory so you can feel like you're inside, and be outside. Although, in SC, it really could be a problem in the summer. However, here in Cleveland, I want one sooooooo bad so we can sit out and watch it snow.

Do you use your deck a lot? If you currently use your deck a lot, you'll probably use your screened in porch a lot.

In NC, we use our screened in porch a ton. I don't know that you see sunrooms very often in the South for good reason. I can't remember ever seeing one around here but I remember a few in NY.

I'm sure it depends on many factors but dust is not too bad. We did bring our furniture in for a week in spring when the pollen peaked.

If you are interested in energy savings, then obviously a conditioned sunroom uses a lot more energy although low-e windows and shade help a lot in the summer. An unconditioned sunroom in SC seems like a bad idea....

I'm finishing up a 3 or 4 season porch, I went with big sliding windows. A previous porch had small windows and it was a pain to open and shut them as you understand.

If you go this route, check the building codes in your area. The size and location of my windows required them all to have safety glazing, which almost doubled the costs. I would also recommend low e windows to block the UV.

Our original plan was for a screened porch, we ended up "closing" it up with glider windows for a few reasons. A portion of our master bath was above, and I was worried about the pipes, we would get more use out of it as a four-seasons room, even in winter, as it has its own heat, it cost us alot less to do it in the building stage than if we were to convert it down the road. We were concerned about losing the view and openess, but the gliders are large and still make is feel open. We didn't want casements due to our deck being attached to the outside of the room.

Thank you all for your replies. Lots of good points. It's good to hear that you enjoy your screen porches. Maybe if the house comes in at what we have budgeted we can go the sun room route. But the additional building costs, not to mention the ongoing cooling costs, may close the door on this idea.

I grew up in the south but have lived in the upper midwest for more than 20 years so I obviously haven't thought about the 'greenhouse effect' of a sun room during the summer!

Nanj, I forgot to say that our sunroom will be heated and cooled. I honestly couldn't imagine one without H/A as it would give you that "greenhouse" effect. Also we have LoE windows as well as radiant floor heat (my DH went a little overboard) for our short winters. Good Luck!

One other thing is that a screened porch is not assessed as 'living space', so...you can 'live' on it more than half the year without paying RE tax on it. You could put a wood stove or fireplace out there and use it in cooler weather. As long as it isn't enclosed and HVAC-ed, it's not taxed. (At least that's the case in my area -- Chicago suburbs.)

Build a BIG porch!

I am a native South Carolinian from the Upstate and have a always had a screen porch.
A four season room only works in this climate if you have supplemental heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

chisue - How big is BIG?? lol We have a small family so I don't see a 25-person gathering situation. The screen porch will be off the great room which will likely have french doors flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Our current deck is 12x16 which seems roomy. I haven't spent much time thinking about arranging a screen porch but I am thinking I would not have an eating table on it. It may be just a space for relaxing. I can picture my husband and me sitting on lounge chairs enjoying the pond view on nice afternoons.

lsst - Yes, the idea of a 'conditioned' sun room has fallen by the wayside. Our breakfast area/sitting area off the kitchen will have floor-to-ceiling windows so I'll consider that my "sun room". Between the building costs of a true sun room and the on-going costs to heat and cool, that idea is officially abandoned. Thanks for your reply which re-enforces my thoughts.

I'm so glad I could endorse the ideas that SOMEONE posts on this forum! LOL (I'm pretty quick to rain on parades that don't seem wise to me.)

I just mean 'big enough'. Often we see posts where porches are so shallow you couldn't pass by a person sitting in a chair next to the house -- or have a table for eating. (You may want that; we eat on our porch when we can.)

Keep the idea of skylights in your head. A porch can make interior rooms dark. Orientation to the sun is also important. We once had a SW patio that was only nice for breakfast.

chi_sue, funny you should say something about your posts.....believe it or not, when looking at our plan (which is still in progress), I've thought, hmmm...chi_sue probably wouldn't like this. Crazy, huh?!

Yes, I've thought about how the porch will make the great room darker but, actually, that is okay. The Great Room is my husband's, so to speak, for his aquarium and watching TV. A bright room is not important to him. Our breakfast room with its sitting area will be all windows.

I've read that it helps to have a high ceiling on the porch to not only make the porch more comfortable but also that helps to let in more light in the adjacent area. I may consider skylights but in the south, the idea is not to have the sun shining down on you. The whole way of thinking about the sun and how it comes into your house is different down south.

Ooooh! I MUST learn to type more positive vibes!

We spend a lot of time our 'breakfast' room (also lunch and dinner room), kitchen and library. (Read books in the LR and watch DVD's n the 'library'.) I need an East-facing place in the mornings.

My remark about the SW patio was meant to illustrate how placement can spoil an outdoor 'room'. We coldn't use it after noon.

Happy planning!
Sue

if you have a sunroom, you need heat and AC in it. Everyone I know without those 2 things who have a sunroom hardly ever uses it. Boiling hot in the summer from the sun and just too cold in the winter.

We opted for a screen porch instead. Yes, here in MA we only use it 3+ months a year, but those are glorious 3 months. I hate bugs with a passion but like being outside, and my screen porch makes it possible. We put bird feeders nearby and it's lovely just to sit and watch the birds.