Insulating an older greenhouse or conservatory

Owners of older greenhouses and conservatories should take note of advice from the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) on how to reduce heating bills and save energy.

According to the experts at the RHS, insulating a glasshouse, greenhouse or conservatory with horticultural fleece or bubble wrap can save as much as 25 per cent on bills

Gardeners can also use polystyrene or wooden panels to insulate the greenhouse.

The wood or polystyrene insulators are fine to use inside or outside the greenhouse but the bubblewrap or horticultural fleece should only be implemented inside.

While this should raise the temperature inside the greenhouse or conservatory, it will also increase condensation and therefore gardeners are advised to keep the area will ventilated.

Gardeners are advised to only insulate the north or windward side of their greenhouse to ensure that enough light gets in to help the plants grow.

Plants should also be kept away from any dripping condensation and should be kept away from bubblewrap.

Of course a quality modern conservatory or greenhouse is unlikely to need extra insulation as they are less draughty and more heat-retentive than their antiquated counterparts.