Skylights are becoming more popular as the energy crunch increases and the energy costs climb. House owners, especially those of large houses, are able to save quite a lot on their daytime energy bills by installing skylights.
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.
Wall windows let in just a fifth of the sunlight that comes through a skylight of the same dimensions. That means you get a five-fold benefit of natural lighting and heating, which translates to a commensurate saving on your energy bill.
The interior suddenly appears to be more spacious and open. You can install skylights for any interior area, but the most popular areas nowadays are kitchens and living rooms. Bathrooms are also being given the skylight-treatment more and more these days. Having a skylight in the bathroom means increased privacy by obviating the need of a bathroom window. Bathing will be more pleasurable in the colder months, thanks to the warmth of the sunlight entering the bathroom.
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!
You will need blinds to control the amount of sunlight coming in to the house. Otherwise your cooling bill will shoot up in the heat of summer! Blinds are quite costly and you may want to look at tints or films which can reduce the amount of light coming through the skylights. These films are much cheaper than blinds and can be applied to the skylights very easily.
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.
You will have to compute the size of the skylight according to the area of the room you’re placing it in. If the room is already well served with a number of windows, then the skylight should not exceed 5% of the floor area. Otherwise the skylight can go up to 15% of the floor area.
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.
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