So which is the best, of two of the most popular conservatory roof glasses? Well I decided to do a little research and came up with the following results.

Sources for above figures: 

http://www.cervoglass.co.uk/cervoactiv1.html
http://www.celsiusglass.com/tech.htm

As you can see from the above figures, it’s a case of ’swings and roundabouts’ and it really depends on what you or the customer wants.

Pilkington’s strong selling point with their Activ Blue glass is the self cleaning properties while K2’s strength with their Celsius Plus glass is the greater solar heat reflection.

Activ Blue has the additional advantages of a slightly lower U-value and a little better light transmission, although there’s not really that much in it.

Conclusion: It looks to me like both the Pilkington Activ Blue and the K2 Celsius Plus conservatory roof glasses perform pretty well and I believe are similarly priced so I guess it’s down to what’s most important the the end user, self-cleaning or a slightly higher degree of solar heat reflection (solar control).

Personally, I prefer the Pilkington Activ Blue as it still provides excellent solar control along with true self cleaning which is extremely convenient when situated in a conservatory roof.

I’ve also had personal experience of sitting in a conservatory on a hot sunny day with Activ Blue in the roof and also in the side frames, and I’ve got to say that I was most impressed with how cool it really was in there and that’s one of the reasons that I would personally recommend it.

Obviously, we also have the very strong selling point of the Pilkington brand name with all their marketing behind it.

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Sealed unit manufacturer Solaglas launches COMFORT+excel, the best performing conservatory roof glass on the market.

The multi-functional glass is a premium product in its existing COMFORT+ range of conservatory glass and leads the way in four key areas: solar heat reflection, thermal insulation, self cleaning and warm edge technology.

The new glass also comes with a market leading 1.0W/m2K u-value and Swisspacer V warm edge technology as standard to virtually eliminate internal condensation.

Thus COMFORT+excel reflects heat generated inside the conservatory back into the room and prevents it from escaping out of the roof, significantly reducing the need for heating in winter months.

Below I have included an extract from their PDF.

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I just came across this interesting product from Tuffx.

The revolutionary eco i-panel, is a insulated composite panel, suitable for conservatory roofing and walls, that offers incredible U-values as low as 0.20 & conforms to Part L of Building Regulations, removing the neccessity for dividing internal doors between the house and conservatory.

eco-i panel is the first thermally efficient system available in the UK that is suitable for both insulated conservatory roofs, walls and curtain walling applications.

 Of course, due to the fact that the roof is not translucent, the conservatory will need building regulations approval every time.

You can download their pfd leaflet for more details here.

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I was quite alarmed to receive a letter from Pilkington yesterday, outlining their proposed substantial price increases with effect from 8th June 2009.

The following is an article relating to this, from thisismoney.

Leading glass-maker Pilkington is imposing huge price rises on its customers – just as house-builders are struggling to survive.

The company, founded in 1826 and part of Japan’s NSG since 2006, has told clients the price of the glass commonly used in new homes is to rise by 50pc. Last October, Pilkington closed one of the lines producing standard glass at its St Helens site on Merseyside.

Pilkington, which supplies more than a third of the glass used in UK buildings, says it is only trying to make up for earlier price reductions.

In a letter to customers, it said: ‘Glass manufacture and supply has become uneconomic and the situation cannot be sustained.’

A spokesman said: ‘We are losing money, this is a commercial decision.’

Download Pilkington’s price increase letter here.

Read more information and opinions on this subject at Renegade Conservatory Guy

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I thought I would share this free DVD that I sent for from mist3training.com.

Here’s the cover letter…

…and here’s the video

I think this is some sort of franchise because if you look at their website, they want six grand!

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