Installing a skylight in your home can make the world of difference to its interior appeal. Skylights let an abundance of natural light into the home, and furthermore, modern skylights are both weather- and leakage-resistant, and they are an eco-friendly option – making them a great source of illumination.

 

Different types of skylights

There are numerous different types of skylights, but perhaps the two most common types include the curb-mounted skylight and the frame-in-place skylight. The Curb-mounted skylight sits inside a purpose-built wooden frame that sits on top of the roofline, while frame-in-place skylights sit inside a frame that is flush with the roofline.

The sun tunnel or tubular skylight is another popular choice – its flexible design allows it to be installed in otherwise awkward areas, making them a perfect fit for small, dark areas, such as guest loos, bathrooms, storage spaces and kitchens for example. From the outside, they look like small domes that protrude from the roof. Their small size minimises heat loss in winter, and heat gain in summer, and also their impact on the architectural integrity of the home.

Skylights can be domed or flat – dome shapes are structurally much stronger than their flat counterparts, and they are also able to expand and contract more easily with weather changes than a flat shape, which increases their durability even further.

 

You can also choose between fixed and vented skylights. A fixed skylight remains in place and cannot open and close, while a vented skylight is one that can open and as its name implies, provide the interior of your home with added ventilation. This is an ideal choice for rooms with little or no ventilation, and areas in your home that are hot, such as attic or loft rooms for example. Most vented units crank open manually using a purpose-built pole. Alternatively, you can have them motorised to open electrically at a push of a button.

Different types of materials

Plastics are a popular choice of material used for skylights – they are lightweight, so they don’t add to the structural load carried by the roof, and they are durable – polycarbonate plastics for example, are 200 times stronger than glass. Glass skylights are also popular – in fact, there have been major advancements in the glass used to build skylights – low E glass is made to block UV rays of the sun that bleach furniture and carpets, tempered glass is extra-strong, while heat mirrored glass is recommended for areas with strong sun exposure. Both plastic and glass skylights can be glazed to improve their energy efficiency – different types of glazing include heat-absorbing tints, insulated glazing (double-glazed, triple-glazed) and low emissivity coatings.

 

The various installation components

There are four basic components to each skylight installation. The first component of the installation is to cut a hole in the roof of the house and to frame it. The second is to create a similar opening in the ceiling in the room below the hole in the roof, and then the third component is to construct a light shaft that connects the hole in the roof, with the hole in the ceiling. And finally, the fourth component comprises installing and waterproofing the skylight in the roof.

Other things to consider

Although a properly installed skylight can help minimise heating, cooling and lighting costs, when deciding to install a skylight, aside from what has already been mentioned, there are other things that need to be carefully considered – these include:

The size: Carefully consider the size of the skylight you choose, as it will impact on the temperature and illumination of the area in question. As a general rule of thumb, the size of a skylight should be approximately 5% of the floor area of a room with many windows, and less than 15% of the floor space of a room with few windows.

 

Professional installers: Installing a skylight is a job that is best left to the professionals – choose the wrong person to do the job, and you will live to regret it in the future. Skylights need to be carefully selected so that they suit where they are going to be installed, and they need to be perfectly installed to ensure that they are watertight and don’t leak.

Solar blinds: Solar blinds can dramatically improve the energy efficiency of any skylight – they can be manually or electrically operated and are available in black-out and light-diffusing materials. – Antonella Desi