Skylights improve the interior of a home, making rooms brighter and healthier. They can add architectural interest both inside and out, helping to boost homebuyer appeal with the promise of more natural light. Skylight positioning is important; a well-placed roof window helps save money on energy bills. Here are some signs your home needs a skylight.
Turn on Lights
If you turn on the lights in the living room to read or in the kitchen to work on a craft project even when it’s sunny outside, it might be a sign that your living space could do with more natural light. A skylight allows natural light in from above, distributing it more evenly throughout the room than light coming in through a window.
Maintain Privacy
When the windows of a home are too small, it might seem that installing wider windows as part of some home renovations you’re planning for the New Year would be a practical solution. However, if your neighbour’s house is close by and they get a better view of inside your home, installing a skylight maintains privacy while illuminating the space.
Increase Energy Efficiency
By bringing in more natural light into the rooms of your home, you can increase your energy efficiency. Skylights reduce the amount of electric lighting you use and cut down on the emissions of heating systems operating on unsustainable power sources. Today, skylight manufacturers offer versatile sustainable options such as solar panels, heat absorbing tints, and insulated glazes.
Save Money
The added bonus of using skylights to increase your home’s energy efficiency is reducing heating and air conditioning costs. And when you don’t have to turn lights on during the daytime, you also cut costs on your energy bill.
Improve Overall Health
A skylight can improve overall health, both physical and mental wellness. If you or any members of your family experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), skylight installations in bedrooms, bathrooms, and other rooms you spend a lot of time in can ease the impact of this type of depression related to seasonal changes.
Even if SAD isn’t an issue, increasing the amount of natural light in an interior space can brighten a person’s mood, reduce stress, and boost energy levels.
A skylight that lets in sun or direct light into a bathroom, kitchen, or dark area minimizes mold and mildew growth.
Freshen the Air
Open the window; put scented dryer sheets in the closets; plug in an air freshener – is there a room in your house that’s always stuffy no matter what you do? Rooms in older homes can have ventilation problems. In bathrooms and kitchens where ventilation is poor, moisture buildup might become problematic. Installing a ventilating skylight that opens like a window allows air to circulate down into and throughout the room.
Open up Small Spaces
A room that feels cramped, dark, or dull can really benefit from a skylight or roof window. Skylights in small spaces can make a cramped room feel brighter or make a small space appear larger. It’s the quality of light that makes the difference – bulb light is yellow while skylights provide the white light that infuses a room with good energy.