4 Things to Know Before Installing a Skylight

Homeowners are constantly on the lookout for ways to make their home more inviting, interesting and individual.

For many people, installing a skylight is the perfect answer. It must be stated straight off the bat that this home improvement project is not DIY friendly and the installation of skylights is best left to the pros.

If you’re one of the many people considering installing a skylight, here are four things to know before you go ahead with your installation. Let’s shine a light on skylights.

The Top 4 Things You Need to Know Before Installing a Skylight

1.      A Skylight Adds More Natural Light to Your Home

Installing a skylight is the easiest way to make your home brighter, lighter and visually appealing as you watch the sun’s light beams dance throughout your house. A skylight will allow more than triple the amount of light in than what a regular window of the same size would. Even in overcast conditions, a skylight will ensure that a space has enough lighting without ever flipping a switch.

2.      Some Skylights Can Cause Glare

It just makes sense that since a skylight is located on your roof and doesn’t have any trees to shade it, the risk of glare is present. This is why it’s incredibly important to make sure the positioning of your skylight is perfect. You can also opt for a glazed skylight or invest in a shading system to minimise this risk.

3.      Skylights Will Increase the Value of Your Home

Adding a skylight will not only increase your standard of living, but it will also increase your home’s value should you decide to put it on the market. The installation of skylights is a trick often used by home-flippers. Even though the cost of installing a skylight can be quite hefty, it is well worth the investment into your home’s overall value.

4.      A Skylight Can Both Increase and Decrease Your Electricity Bill

A skylight can reduce your electricity bill for obvious reasons, the main one being that you’ll be using electrical lighting much less. But skylights can also increase your electricity bill when it comes to heating and cooling your home. In summer, heat seeps in your home which leads to people cranking up their ACs, whereas in winter heat escapes and people turn to their heaters to counteract this.   

The Pros and Cons of Installing a Skylight

Now that you have the important bits of information, should you get one installed? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons associated with skylights to help you answer this question for yourself.

The Pros of Installing Skylights

• Skylights can provide extra ventilation for rooms that are dark and damp
• A skylight is the easiest way to allow more natural light into your home
• Perfectly positioned skylights can introduce more indirect solar energy into your home
• Skylights have the ability to make a room look and feel bigger

The Cons of Installing Skylights

• Skylights are expensive to purchase, install and maintain 
• Installing a skylight could risk the structural integrity of your home’s roof
• If a skylight is not properly installed it will leak and not optimise your home’s light flow
• When not properly positioned, a skylight can allow too much light in

The Different Kinds of Skylights

As more people see the appeal of skylights, more options are presented to us. The skylight industry is an innovative one that seemingly has a product for every roof, climate and individual preference. Here are the main kinds of skylights:

• Ventilating skylights: Ventilating skylights are one of the most popular types of skylights as they allow plenty of light in, while ensuring the air is properly ventilated. A ventilated skylight provides the most benefits to smaller, darker rooms. This kind of skylight is most often found in bathrooms, washrooms and kitchens.
• Fixed skylights: A fixed skylight looks extremely similar to a ventilating skylight, but it doesn’t ventilate the air. If you’re only after promoting more natural light in your home, a fixed skylight will meet your needs well. Fixed skylights are most often found in rooms with high ceilings such as bedrooms, living rooms and studies.
• Tubular skylights: As the name implies, a tubular skylight is a skylight that has a unique tube-like shape. This kind of skylight is perfect for people who don’t have a lot of ceiling space to work with and are in need of extra light. Tubular skylights are commonly found in walkways, hallways, closets and pantries.

Final Thoughts

Adding a skylight is the right option for many homeowners that will light up their homes and lives, but for others it just doesn’t make sense. Which group of people do you fall into?

So, what do you say, will installing a skylight be your next home improvement? If you’re looking at installing skylights Melbourne has plenty of trusted vendors that will be happy to help you.