We are also considering a sunroom on our future home to be built in South Carolina. In doing my research on the sensibility of a sunroom in SC I came across a window manufacturer who promotes triple glazed (3 panes of glass) for sunrooms. He had an exhibit set up in his showroom with three radiant heat lamps, the kind with the red bulb often seen in bathrooms. Positioned just a few inches in front of each lamp was a window. One set up had a single-glazed window, the next had a double-glazed window, and the third had a triple-glazed window. To demonstrate how radiant heat penetrates the window, I put my hand in front of the window to feel for the heat. The single glazed felt like nothing was between my hand and the lamp, the double glazed cut down on the radiant heat quite well. But the triple glazed window cut down so much on the radiant heat that I could not even feel the heat. Our sunroom will be on the north side of the house but in mid-summer with the sun reaching its furthest northerly point on the horizon, we will get some late afternoon/evening sun as it sets. We will use triple glazed windows to cut the radiant heat. I may end up designing the room with less window area than I had hoped for to better manage the heat gain. I think that sunroom designs and locations are very dependent on the region you are in and the amount of sun blocked by trees or structures. It is hard to relate an experience in Texas with one in Minnesota. Early on we thought we would do a screen porch but so many people say that the porch gets so dirty and dusty that you end up either cleaning daily or you end up not using it. There is no perfect solution!

cecilt; Sorry I didn't see your message til now. We faced southeast, the only time we had direct sun was from around 11:30 - 1:30 in the heat of the summer. We are in southern BC, weather similar to westcoast of Washington & Oregon, temperate most of the year. The room was 14 x 12, it was built on post & pier as opposed to a full foundation. We never had a problem with extreme heat, in the full heat of the day it was only ever 1 or 2 degrees warmer than outside, believe me we tried to get it hotter just as a test. We didn't have air conditioning in the house, but it was never a problem. Just open the windows on the shady side & you would get nice ventilation. The roof was all glass, my only complaint would be make sure you have access to clean it easily if you have trees nearby. We had a small gas fireplace put in which had a timer on it, we would get up in the morning to find the room nice & warm & the cat rolling around in front of the fire. We had one small leak where the builders forgot to put in a piece of flashing, not on the sunroom part, but on the solid wall area, it was taken care of the same day that I called. Four Seasons is a franchise, so it is most important to check out the builders. We checked them out thoroughly, they were professional, wrote up a contract, we knew what they were doing & we knew what we were responsible for, they stuck to the timeline & the workers were clean & respectful. I don't know what else I can add, other than, if we were to do it over, we would have bought a bigger one, because we lived in that room. It's so wonderful to be out in the garden especially in the gloom of west coast winters.

Len, Here in the Northeast, Four Seasons brand is quite popular and very expensive, but most important they are well established and there when you need them. I took a look at Betterliving's site and read abit of the technical data and it seams to be a well thought product. You also mention the contractor is well established as well. Thats a plus. My only concern would be the type of glass cartridges they come with. These rooms can get as hot as an oven without the proper glass and ventilaton. I'd look into glass choices, low E with argon gas? Perhaps a reflective glass coating? Not sure. Depends on the room's exposer and your climate. Good Luck, The PorchGuy Here is a link that might be useful: My Album

Film can void any warranty on the doors and may cause the glass to crack Solar Shades can help, but solar shades over sliding doors makes NO sense to me. If you select white solar shades they will block your view Gray/Bronze solar shades will allow you to see but over white doors with mullions it will look really odd in the room. And you don't need the shades all the time. Retractable awnings are only there when you require them and they don't impede your view. A Luminette drape/shade is a nice look and still allows you to control the amount of light that enters but is $$$$