Yes, it will be darker, and it is better to know that before you order. An opaque panel roof removes the overhead light. The glazed walls stay, though, and a typical 3 m by 4 m conservatory keeps around 12 m² of wall glass, several times the window area of an ordinary lounge. One or two roof lights at £395 each put overhead daylight back where it is needed.
How much light actually goes
A glass or polycarbonate roof lets light in from directly above, which is the brightest part of the sky. Replace it with insulated panels and that light stops. On a dull winter afternoon you will notice it, and on a bright summer day you will notice the glare has gone.
What stays is all the glass in the walls. Take a common lean-to, 3 m deep and 4 m wide, against the back of the house. The three outside walls run for 10 m. With a dwarf wall of about 0.6 m and eaves at about 2.1 m, that is 1.5 m of glazed height, or 15 m² of window area before frames. Allow for the frames and you still have about 12 m² of glass.
For comparison, a typical living room window might be 2 to 3 m² of glass. So even with an opaque roof, a conservatory like this still has four to six times the glazing of a normal room. It will not feel like a cave. It will feel like a very bright room rather than a greenhouse.
Where you notice it most
The light in a conservatory with a panel roof comes in from the sides. That means the darkest spot moves to the back, along the house wall, furthest from the glass. It also means the room behind the conservatory, often a kitchen or dining room with patio doors, gets less borrowed light than before.
That second point catches people out. If your kitchen relies on light coming through the conservatory, plan a roof light close to the house wall. It is the single most effective place to put one.
Which way does your conservatory face?
| Facing | With a clear or polycarbonate roof | With an insulated panel roof |
|---|---|---|
| South | Very bright, often too hot and full of glare | Still bright through the walls, far more comfortable. Roof lights optional. |
| West | Hot, glaring afternoons and evenings | Evening sun still comes through the walls. One roof light is usually enough. |
| East | Bright mornings, cooler afternoons | Pleasant mornings. A roof light near the house wall helps in the afternoon. |
| North | Soft, even light, rarely too hot | You will notice the change most. Two roof lights and good lighting are worth it. |
If you have a north facing conservatory that rarely overheats and you love the light, be honest with yourself about why you want a solid roof. If the answer is winter warmth, condensation or rain noise, panels still make sense, but plan the roof lights from the start.
Roof lights: how many and where
Glazed roof lights are set into the panel roof and let overhead daylight back in. Most people choose one or two. They cost £395 each, fitted as part of the roof.
As a rough rule of thumb, glazing in a roof lets in around twice as much daylight as a vertical window of the same size, because it faces the brightest part of the sky. So a small roof light does more than its size suggests.
- One roof light: put it near the house wall, over the darkest part of the room, or over a dining table.
- Two roof lights: one near the house wall and one over the main seating area, or spaced evenly along a long lean-to.
- More than two: rarely worth it. Every roof light lets some summer sun and winter heat through, which is what you were trying to fix.
Make the most of the light you keep
- White ceilings reflect. The inside of our panels is white as standard, whatever colour you choose outside. A white ceiling bounces light from the walls around the room.
- Light walls and floors. Pale colours on the house wall and floor reflect far more light than dark brick or dark wood.
- Keep the glass clear. Heavy wall blinds kept half down all day undo a lot of the benefit. With the roof opaque, you may find you need them far less.
- Use mirrors sparingly. A mirror on the house wall facing the garden throws light to the back of the room.
Lighting for dark evenings
With a glass or polycarbonate roof, lighting a conservatory at night is awkward because there is nowhere to fix lights. A panel roof gives you a proper ceiling. LED spotlights can be fitted into it for £345, which turns the room into somewhere you can use after dark all year. Put them on a dimmer and you can match the mood of the rest of the house.
The trade you are making
Here is the honest balance for a typical 12 m² roof. You give up the overhead daylight. In return, heat loss through the roof falls from about 552 W to about 103 W on a freezing night (16 mm polycarbonate against 75 mm panels), direct summer sun through the roof stops, condensation largely goes, and rain becomes a soft background sound. Screens become usable at midday, and furniture fades less.
For most people using the room every day, that is a good swap. For someone who sits in the conservatory mainly to feel close to the sky, it may not be. We would rather you know that before you book.
Does it change how the room is used?
Usually for the better. A glass roof room is often too bright to read a screen in at midday and too dark to use after sunset. With a panel roof, the light is steadier through the day, and spotlights take over in the evening. Many people move a dining table or desk into the room once the glare has gone.
A simple test you can do now
If you have roof blinds, close them all on a bright day and sit in the room for an hour. That is close to what a panel roof with no roof lights feels like, although a real panel roof is brighter because its white ceiling reflects better than most blinds. Then open one blind near the house wall: that is roughly the effect of a roof light.
Next step
At the free survey we look at the direction your conservatory faces and the room behind it, and suggest where roof lights would help. Get a rough figure, with or without roof lights, from the cost calculator, or book a free survey and fixed quote. You can also compare the options in insulated roof panels vs polycarbonate.
Questions people ask
Does a solid conservatory roof make the room darker?
Yes, because the roof no longer lets light through. The glazed walls stay, and one or two roof lights put overhead light back.
How many roof lights should I have?
Most people choose one or two. One near the house wall helps the darkest part of the room and any room behind it.
Can I have lights in a panel roof?
Yes. LED spotlights can be fitted into the panel ceiling for £345.
What colour is the inside of the panels?
White inside as standard, which reflects daylight around the room. The outside can be any RAL colour, with anthracite grey and white the most popular.
