Screened porch with Sunspace windows

It depends on your region, but in MD/VA I would go for a screened porch with a ceiling fan. IME sunrooms tend to overheat in summer. Also if you are just converting an existing porch, I would always suggest screening it in because adding windows usually looks bad.

Definitely screened porch. That nice summer breeze for an afternoon nap! All the people I know who did a sunroom regret it and never use it. It's just more indoor space.

Anonymous wrote:My in laws had a screened in-porch and they added windows (I cant find them online) where you can move them top to bottom or bottom to top (all the way so it can become a screened in porch if you want. The windows are also very easy to move which was important to them due to arthritis. They get the best of both types of room that way. They did say the windows were pricey.

These are EZE Breeze or Sunspace vinyl windows. We have a screened porch with Sunspace windows that slide up or down. We have a gas fireplace in it, so we can use the room year-round.

You can put a guest on a pull up couch/bed in sunroom but not on porch.

We chose the porch and am very happy. A sun room is just another room with windows. A porch is outdoor space. With a ceiling fan on we eat out very often. Much cheaper too.

You can put a small heater or fan on porch to make it pleasant even for colder or warmer months, without worrying about adding more sunroom burden on your AC/heating system.

My in laws had a screened in-porch and they added windows (I cant find them online) where you can move them top to bottom or bottom to top (all the way so it can become a screened in porch if you want. The windows are also very easy to move which was important to them due to arthritis. They get the best of both types of room that way. They did say the windows were pricey.

Screened in porch still has fresh outdoor element, sunroom is just a room with huge windows.

Sunroom. I feel zero need for heat. Love air conditioning.

Much rather have a screened in porch. Sunrooms are inevitably terrible energy sucks, and I've seen some that leak like a sieve in rain. And if you do seal it off well enough to make it a "four season" sunroom, its still usually not energy efficient and now adds to your square footage (good at resale I guess, but bad for tax assessment). They usually just feel like poorly designed interior space to me.

By contrast, a screened in porch actually feels like being outside, because you are. There are usually bigger, and much cheaper to maintain. You don't use them as much in the winter, and you need to bundle up a bit more in the early spring or late fall... but you don't really use the sunroom then either. And in the summer, it's much less stuffy (especially with a ceiling fan). And although we aren't as in the throws of the pandemic, for any communicable disease that increased ventilation is nice.

It kinda comes down though to why you want the space. If I was looking to do a lot of gardening where I need to bring plants in for the winter, for example, a properly designed sunroom can almost double as a greenhouse. But that's not my use case, I just want a nice place to sit with friends outside without needing to spray for bugs. That's a screened in porch.

Sunroom, as long as the large windows could open up to let in cross breezes (with screens).

It's more versatile when done correctly, with heat and AC

Porch

If they're the same size I'd prefer a sunroom. But in my experiences screened-in porches are much larger, likely converted decks, and sunrooms are small and not as usable.

All things being equal: sunroom. Based on the available sunrooms/screened-in porches in the DMV: porch.

Which do you prefer a screened in porch or a sunroom and why? Thanks!