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In the following article, we will compare aluminium winter gardens and summer gardens. We will describe the advantages and disadvantages to help you decide which one is the right choice for your backyard.
If you’re looking to extend your living space and enjoy your garden all year round, a winter garden or terrace could be the perfect solution. Aluminium winter gardens and terraces can also offer excellent insulation and energy efficiency. Although the material has a relatively low thermal resistance, to enhance its insulation properties, the frames are typically designed with a “thermal break,” which is a non-conductive material inserted between the interior and exterior components of the structure. Furthermore, they are combined with triple-insulated glazing, so you can even have a heated, indoor living space in your house.
By comparison, a summer garden, also called a 3-season glazed terrace, is made with single glazing, though it has many advantages. First and most importantly, it is significantly cheaper than an insulated aluminium system with triple glazing. It also has a narrower, more elegant profile system, which can be customized with tinted, coated, or even UV-filtered glass. The roof design is also more straightforward, less expensive, and the system’s installation is faster too.
During the cold winter months, we can make less use of the summer garden. However, it has some practical advantages, such as being a great pantry in temperatures of 5-15C and not worrying about rain or four-legged visitors.
Our Solarisz aluminium summer garden system
What is energetically remarkable is that the summer garden functions as extra insulation during the winter months. It provides protection from cold and strong winds, can eliminate draughts in the house, and sunny weather provides extra warmth as a buffer due to the greenhouse effect. We should note here that our Solaris summer garden system is extremely windproof. It has been tested in the ÉMI laboratory up to a pressure of 1800 Pa, resembling a wind speed of about 190 km/h.
An additional advantage of the 3-season glazed summer garden is that it offers more transparency due to fewer profiles. Our Solarisz system can be installed up to 10 tracks (20 tracks on two sides) and slide almost entirely, so you can turn your summer garden into an open terrace without worrying about overheating in summer.
We are developing our Solarisz system with a new technology of vacuum glass to increase its thermal insulation further. The thin, narrow design will be maintained, yet a thermal insulation coefficiency up to Ug: 0.7 W/m2K will be achieved (equivalent to triple glazing).
In Hungary, wooden and plastic winter garden systems are the most common. Yet, it is worth being aware of the advantages of aluminium:
- It’s a lightweight and durable material, ideal for constructing outdoor structures.
- It is resistant to corrosion, won’t rust or deteriorate over time, and is easy to maintain.
- Unlike wood, aluminium won’t warp, rot, or require regular painting, so it is a low-maintenance option.
- Furthermore, aluminium is a sustainable material that can be recycled indefinitely without losing its properties, reducing the system’s carbon footprint. XS-ALU systems are already made from 50% recycled aluminium.
- In terms of aesthetics, aluminium winter or summer gardens offer a sleek and modern look that can complement any home style.
In conclusion, 3-season aluminium systems, i.e. summer gardens, can be a good alternative if the following are the essential criteria in your choice:
- high quality
- modern design
- affordable price
- sustainability