Once very common, skylights went out of vogue due to modern architectural design trends. Now skylights are witnessing a return to popularity, mainly because people have become energy and environmentally conscious. This article will explain the benefits of using skylights in your house.
Skylights are paned openings in the roof to let the sunlight in to the house. The sunlight warms and lights up the inner rooms which otherwise require artificial lighting even in the day.
The amount of light that comes in through a skylight is much more than the light that comes through an equivalent window. The natural heat that accompanies the sunlight raises the ambient temperature, leading to a reduction in your daytime heating bill.
Natural sunlight opens up closed spaces, making them appear airy and spacious. The smaller rooms of the house, like the kitchen and the living room benefit greatly from this treatment. A skylight for the bathroom is a great way to increase privacy and to make bathing a pleasure in cold weather.
Indoor plants are popular ways of giving the interior areas a bit of the outdoors. But the cost of providing artificial lighting for the plants is sometimes prohibitive. Skylights let you grow plants right inside the house at no cost at all!
Blinds are necessary accessories for skylights. You need to cut down the amount of sunlight streaming into the interior of the house in the summer, and blinds let you do this. You can opt for skylight tints instead of blinds. Tints are protective films that can be applied to the skylight panes to cut down the sunlight passing into the house. Your budget will decide your choice of blinds or tints.
You will have to take a few points into consideration when you’re installing the skylights. One is the climate in your geographical area. The other is the facing (direction) of the skylight. The roof style is important too. Is the skylight installed in a flat roof or an angled one? These factors affect what is called the energy performance rating of the skylight.
The general agreement on computing the size of the skylight for lighting up a room is a maximum of 5% of the floor area for areas with a lot of windows, and a maximum of 15% for those areas which are served by few windows. Exceeding these norms reduces the energy efficiency of the skylight.
For optimum energy efficiency, it is recommended that you get the skylights installed by a professional contractor. The setting and sealing is crucial to the skylight’s energy efficiency! A professional has the experience and expertise to the job right. They are the best persons to advise you on the size, type and location of the skylight to install according to the room being served. Of course you should check the credentials and references of the contractor before assigning the job to him.
In addition to controlling your electricity costs, a roof skylight will also provide many health benefits as well. And natural light can do great things for your mood. Go to www.Skylight-Guide.com to see all your choices. And if your existing skylight is damaged, you’ll certainly want to get a replacement skylight before covering up the hole.
categories: skylight,lighting,home improvement,home,home accessories,energy