Why Skylights are Making a Comeback

Natural light is something that every human being requires. It keeps us healthy, happy and productive. Homeowners who are lucky to live in spaces with lots of natural light can likely attest to this.

However, as city living becomes tighter and tighter, taller and taller and homes become smaller and smaller, access to daylight in living spaces has dwindled. Homeowners are now looking for alternative ways to make the most of the daylight they can find, and one solution is the skylight.

The skylight provides both the home and its occupants with numerous benefits, and with today's newer models, they can be accommodated in even the most modern of homes and apartment. For this reason, and several others that we’ll cover, skylights are making a comeback!

The benefits of having a skylight

How a Skylight Works

The way skylights transmit light into a space is quite straightforward. Modern models, also called tubular skylights, work to brighten rooms that don’t have the space for a wall window, or those lacking access to a roof for the installation of a traditional skylight. Using a tube, they capture natural light from the sun and move it through the tube by way of a series of reflective surfaces, eventually bringing it into the interior of a building.

The tubular skylight can be angled to point in a desired direction. These are beneficial in smaller homes and apartments with dark spaces or where traditional skylights cannot be accommodated. Another feature of some models of this skylight is a light dimmer, allowing the homeowner to adjust the level of light that pours through the tube. As a result, darker homes and apartments may not require electrical lights during the day at all. Therefore, energy costs can greatly decrease.

Skylights are Energy Efficient and Eco-Friendly

Source: Pixabay, PublicDomainPictures

The cost of electricity is constantly increasing, and thus, homeowners are looking for ways to maximize daylight to save money. Sometimes referred to as daylighting, skylights are now being integrated with interior lighting systems to get the best and cheapest light possible. Although traditional skylights have been around for a long time, the newer tubular skylights that we mentioned work to incorporate modern features like dimmers and sensors that help to control the amount of light that enters a home.

Once the level of light that the skylight has transmitted drops below a certain level, the system will turn on a series of LED lights. This hybrid lighting system is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. 

Solar heat gain can be viewed as a downfall in homes with too many windows or large skylights. However, for those who live in colder climates, the solar heating gained from a skylight can be beneficial. Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) tells you how much solar heat gain you’ll get from a window or skylight. Certain models can provide more solar heating than others, and even newer skylights are equipped with solar panelling, utilizing the suns full range to the homeowner’s advantage. 

Benefits for the Body

Natural light is one of the main benefits that a skylight offers. Access to natural sunlight makes us feel and look better, as well as fostering productivity and wellness. There is plenty of research regarding the effects of sunlight on the human body, and it has been confirmed that the body has rhythms that are affected by it, a biological impulse that is engrained in all human beings. Thus, skylights are becoming more frequently used in offices with fluorescent lighting as well as in homes and apartments that do not have many windows or other access to natural light.

Photo: Depositphotos

Further Skylight Benefits

As cities grow crowded, individuals are willing to live in smaller and smaller spaces, sacrificing natural light because of these living conditions. However, not only can skylights provide the natural light that a homeowner craves, they also work to give the illusion of more space, making ceilings look wider and rooms larger. This is a wise design option for smaller homes and apartments that feel cramped.

Another benefit of modern skylights is that some models offer a ventilation system. Venting skylights open to produce a passive air conditioning system. They create an exhaust effect; warm air is drawn through the skylight and this provides a cooling effect while fresh air is distributed throughout the home.

For homes that are built very close together, privacy can become an issue, as windows on the sides of the house can easily peer into neighbour’s rooms. For this reason, homeowners who require natural light but want to maintain privacy install skylights in order to get the best of both worlds, creating spaces that privilege both privacy alongside natural light. 

Would you like to have some advice about how to take car oof your skylight? Check out our article How to Clean a Skylight to read more on the subject.