Skylights: the homeowner’s solution for natural light and air

Skylights and why should I install them.

Skylights are a popular trend because of their daring design qualities, increasingly diverse range of options to suit different tastes and obvious cost-saving advantage. With a skylight, homeowners can take advantage of the natural light that surrounds them and cut costs on electricity and power bills. 

Skylights come in two main variations, fixed and vented. Fixed skylights can not be manipulated and are intended for the purpose of providing extra natural light only. Vented skylights, in contrast, can be opened, manually or with a remote controller, to allow fresh air to enter the home.

Skylights are available in glass and plastic. The advantages of plastic skylights are that they are more durable and are more flexible in terms of fitting a prescribed space. Domed skylights are also only possible if constructed from plastic. This variety has the advantage of being able to capture more sunlight than flat skylights because they channel sunlight into a room even when it is at an angle, such as in early morning or late afternoon.

Another lesser-known type of skylight is the tubular skylight. This variety is more commonly known as a tubular daylight device and is a smaller, more compact, and cheaper alternative to traditional skylights. They work by having a weatherproof dome on the roofing of the house which channels daylight into interior rooms through a reflective metal tube. Tubular daylight devices can even be active at night. When natural sunlight has ceased at nighttime, a specific lens in the tubular daylight device is able to spread ‘harvested’ sunlight into the connected room. Tubular daylight devices are even customisable, with light bulb add-on kits, ventilation and light dimmers available to customers.