As a child I remember my mom using the “enclosed back porch” as a walk-in cooler during the winter. It was the place she’d store Christmas cookies and other goodies in preparation for the holidays. The back porch served well as a naturally refrigerated area during the cold Nebraska winters. Unfortunately, the back porch didn’t work as an outdoor living area.
Today there are options to expand and enhance our modern day “back porches”. Many homes have built in covered decks and patios. More attention is being paid to outdoor living areas. Homeowners are looking for ways to utilize these beautiful outdoor living spaces more often, regardless of the weather or season. Thus the advent of the Sunroom, Four Season rooms, Three Season enclosures and Screen rooms. I even saw one company advertising a FIVE season room!
A Sunroom or Four Season room is basically a room designed as a living area that includes heating and cooling. Thus it can be used year round. They are basically a room with a lot of windows. Sunrooms, as their name implies allow for lots of natural lighting and great views. During the winter months the heat of the sun is a welcome friend or an overpowering intruder. I was recently in a south facing sunroom when the outside temperature was around 10 degrees. Without any heat on, the inside temperature was an uncomfortable 82 degrees! You can imagine how difficult it was to keep their sunroom cool during the summer. Their solution was to add retractable exterior solar screens that allowed them to better control the heat gain.
Three Season rooms, sometimes referred to as All Season rooms, are designed to be used primarily during Spring, Summer and Fall. Typically they do not include any type of heating or cooling (other than ceiling fans). The key to maximizing their use is to allow sufficient airflow. Large operable windows with screens provide that outdoor feeling while giving you the option of having the windows open or closed. The screens keep the room bug free, and Solar screens double as a bug shield and reduce the heat gain while not blocking the view. Modern options offer an amazing vinyl glazing window. These feature shatterproof material that is as transparent as glass without the cost or the weight.
Three Season enclosures are very practical and significantly lower cost than their cousin the sunroom. In any case, consideration must be given to properly managing heat gain and glare issues. Mom’s back porch can be much more than a walk in cooler.
