If you have an older home that has a limited number of windows and tends to be cave-like inside, then installing skylights in your home can be a great idea. Skylights have the ability to make even the smallest rooms feel spacious and fresh.
Many benefits of skylights
Skylights have come a long way from the plastic, bubble-domed window of yesterday. Newer skylights have the natural light and energy efficiency that today's homeowner is looking for. When installed properly, skylights also have the ability to save energy by allowing you to use solar energy during the day.
Plant lovers are drawn to homes with skylights because plants thrive in natural sunlight. Installing skylights in your home can increase its value, and allows you to look up into a beautiful cloudless blue sky during the day, and a moonlit starry night sky – perfect for those with telescopes.
Installing skylights in your home can increase its value, and allows you to look up into a beautiful cloudless blue sky during the day, and a moonlit starry night sky.
The down side to skylights
A 2' x 4' clear skylight will allow enough light and heat into a room to keep your air conditioner running, raising your electric bill by an extra $20 a year per skylight. Also, direct sunlight in one spot can also cause the furniture and carpet in its path to fade, although there are now protective coatings available to alleviate this problem.
Although skylights don't have the leaking problems they used to, condensation is known to occur in homes with cold winter months. The warm air inside the home rises to the ceiling and rests against the colder glass of the skylight, causing condensation to build up and then drip down around the edge of the skylight and onto the floor below. Installing skylights with ventilation will allow the warm air to rise up and out without any condensation problems to worry about.
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New skylight technology controls heat and light
Even with the few drawbacks the original skylights may have, today's technology has come up with ways to control the amount of sunlight that enters a room. There are films and tints that can be applied to a clear skylight that will cut down on the light that penetrates, although they may still allow more heat than you would like.
A popular solution is easy-to-adjust blinds that fit into the skylight frame and allow you to control the amount of light. Darkening shades work well in keeping the heat out of a room. So even though there may still be a few drawbacks with the skylights of today, there are ways to get around them.
A different type of skylight
Tubular Skylights are starting to increase in popularity, even though they have been around for awhile. This type of skylight minimizes the heat coming into the room, while still giving you the light needed to illuminate it sufficiently.
Tubular skylights are roof-mounted with a light collector, typically consisting of an acrylic lens in a metal frame. A reflective “sun scoop” directs sunlight into a plastic or metal tube that has a highly reflective interior coating. The sunlight is guided into a diffuser lens mounted on the interior ceiling surface, which spreads light evenly throughout the room. These lights were first invented to naturally light basements and first floor rooms where regular skylights could not go.
Talk to someone who knows
Before making any big home improvement decisions, it's always a good idea to do some homework to see what your options are. Then talk to a professional skylight installer about your choices and see what advice they have for you. You want to make the right decision when it comes to improving your home, and with the right contractor you can feel your home is in good hands.
