Skylights can help flood interior spaces with natural light, creating an inviting and airy atmosphere that enhances the overall aesthetics of any home or building. As a sought-after architectural feature, skylights offer numerous benefits. However, before taking on the exhilarating project of installing a skylight, it's crucial to consider several key factors to ensure a successful and rewarding outcome.
Here are four essential factors that every homeowner or building manager should remember before embarking on a skylight installation journey. By considering these factors, you can ensure that your skylight installation succeeds and brings all the desired benefits.
1. Glare and Temperature
Glare is the uncomfortably bright light created by light reflecting off a surface. Additionally, glare can make some parts of a room too hot or unpleasant, and if it hits directly on bedding, it may discolor fabrics.
You can avoid these problems by carefully planning the skylight's design. Straight sides allow the light to flow in a straight line. Thus, choose one with curved sides if you want less light from a skylight. This will make the light spread out more and cut down on glare.
Tempered, double-insulated windows with low-E treatments and argon gas between both panes are another skylight choice. Argon gas serves as an insulating material, while low-E coatings block ultraviolet (UV) and infrared light, resulting in a cooler house in the summer.
You can have your skylight tinted to further mitigate the sun's brightness. Tinting windows can lessen glare, reduce heat absorption, and provide privacy. Bronze-tinted skylights are recommended for warmer climates because they reduce solar heat intake.
You can also insulate glass with protective glazing coatings or coverings. Homeowners can enjoy natural light with these materials without sacrificing comfort, privacy, or aesthetics.
2. Location
The best place for a skylight is above a space directly beneath the roof. Some examples of suitable locations include the attic or a guest bedroom. Also, do not install a skylight where a wall or other impediment will block it, and if it gets particularly hot where you live in the summer, you should install one under a tree to provide some welcome shade.
Select a piece of your roof with a slope of at least 5-15 degrees, more than your latitude, to ensure that your skylight will function as intended and reduce solar heat gain. You can also opt for North-facing skylights because they provide constant year-round illumination.
3. Ventilation
While fixed skylights are great for letting in more light, they don't necessarily improve ventilation. However, they are frequently the most cost-effective and leak-resistant choice. However, ventilated skylights provide a great mix of sunlight and airflow because you can open and shut them to let in fresh air and facilitate ventilation.
Some vented skylights operate via a simple hand crank, while others include high-tech motors. Automatic skylights can also feature rain and thermal sensors that automatically open or shut the skylight to control ventilation and prevent water leaks.
4. Roof Design
Your roof must have adequate clearance for the skylight and a suitable pitch to shed rain and other debris. Stick-framed roofs, which use separate rafters at regular intervals, are more conducive to skylights since they provide adequate space to install such a fixture.
However, truss-framed roofs are not intended to be dismantled once installed, as doing so could compromise their strength. Even if your roofer is willing to set up a skylight in your trussed roof, the gap between the beams is likely insufficient for a skylight wider than 2 feet.
Sloped roofs like those seen on gable, hip, and shed structures are ideal for skylights because they direct water and debris away from the opening. Do not install skylights on flat roofs, as water accumulation might cause stains.
