With energy costs continually rising, more and more people are seeking to make their homes more efficient. Did you know that skylights can contribute to the energy efficiency in your home?

Skylight allow at least three times more light in as a vertical window of the same size – immediately saving you energy and giving you the advantage of a home filled with natural light.

Similarly, skylights can help with ventilating rooms and internal spaces which would otherwise require electricity powered systems.

What Is Passive Design?

Passive Design relates to any design that takes advantage of the property’s natural climate in order to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature within.

By using Passive Design, you can reduce the need for expensive heating or cooling systems – often reducing your energy usage by up to 40%. This not only helps to reduce the negative effects on the environment but also saves you money with lower energy bills.

Do Your Research

Before you begin planning your skylight installation, it’s important to consider the following factors – all of which will effect how much daylight can be captured:

• The sun’s altitude
• General weather and cloud levels in your location
• Seasonal differences
• Levels of haze – generally caused by air pollution
• Aspect of the roof
• Any shading that may occur from surrounding trees

Australia is very fortunate to have high levels of sunshine throughout the year however it’s important to consider factors such as air pollution as well as extreme seasonal occurences such as bush fires.

Choose Your Skylights

There are a huge amount of skylights on offer – with different designs, shapes and styles. You don’t need to worry about how they’ll fit into your home as you can adapt them by using different materials and colours available within most ranges.

Some of the types of skylight include:

• Roof Windows: these are usually used in smaller rooms with less roof space and are made from double insulating glass units. This helps to reduce heat loss and minimize condensation.
• Tubular Skylights: these can help to reduce heat loss and heat gain due to their small cross sectional area. They work by capturing sunlight and transmitting it down a light well to be diffused at ceiling level in a room.

Skylights also come with different operating systems – they can be manually or automatically opened so they’re adaptable depending on the height of the ceiling and whether they’re easily accessible.

When choosing your skylight you can opt for the following materials – all of which are fairly durable within the harsh Australian climate:

• Plastics
• Glass
• Aluminium
• Steel
• Stainless steel