If you’re wondering if you should install a skylight in your home, the answer is yes. This design trend is more popular than ever. The leaky, hazy, poorly insulated skylights of the ‘70s are no more. Today’s skylights are well-made with updated materials to prevent leaks and provide clear windows and better insulation. Advances in window coverings and venting functionality make skylights an excellent choice for adding beauty and natural lighting to your space.
One of the best functions of a modern skylight is a closable vent. Here are five great reasons to consider a venting skylight.
1. A Cooler Home
A venting skylight helps to keep your home cool in the summer. Conventional wisdom tells us that air conditioners work best when the house is sealed tight, but this isn’t quite right. Opening a door or window can let the hot and humid air into the dwelling and make the AC work harder, but ventilation through the ceiling is a different matter. As we all know, hot air rises, and that rising force creates a one-way airflow through the skylight vent. It lets the warm air leave, reducing the workload of your AC and helping cool your home faster.
2. Keeping Dry
In a humid climate, moisture buildup can plague a home. You can get mold, mildew, and all kinds of other problems, especially in the walls and attic. A skylight vent allows moisture to escape the home. This prevents moisture problems, but it also helps your AC unit in yet another way. The more humid the air, the harder the AC has to work to cool the air. It basically has to be a dehumidifier and air cooler at the same time. Since the skylight vent lets moisture out, the AC has less work to do.
3. Passive Heating
It’s not always summer. Sometimes, you need heating in your home. While the vent in the skylight helps keep the place cool and dry, closing the vent allows the skylight to provide passive heating in cold weather. The sunlight that comes through the skylight is full of warm energy. It works the same way windows in your car allow it to stay warm on a cold day. The skylight provides this effect (to a smaller degree) in your home.
If you’re worried about the extra light making things hot in the summer, the vent is why this isn’t a problem. Just like opening the car windows keeps the car from baking, the vent allows the warmest air to passively leave the house, even if the light allows warm sunlight in.
4. Energy Costs
The vent in the skylight helps your AC keep the house cool with less effort. It also helps the heating system keep the home warm in the winter. These two factors lead to major savings in energy and utility costs. But you’re getting more than just a vent; it’s also a skylight. That means it reduces the amount of artificial light you need in the home throughout the year.
All of this is pretty obvious, but if you stop for a moment and reflect, you see that this is an energy-savings trifecta. It’s hard for a single change to a home to have such a large impact.
5. Home Value
A skylight isn’t going to add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the value of your home, but it can improve your home value in a few important ways. First, a skylight can help you achieve energy star ratings. Those ratings can help you with insurance rates (when providers participate), tax breaks, and other resources that save money.
Skylights can also make the home easier to sell when the time comes. An abundance of natural light makes a home more appealing to buyers, increasing the sellability of your home and saving you money while you remain in place.
If you think a skylight could make a nice improvement in your home, or if you want to upgrade an existing skylight, you need someone to install it. Advanced Auto Glass has a great selection of options and can help you choose and install your skylight. We’ll get you all of those benefits and make the process simple and easy while we’re at it. It’s a chance to improve your quality of life and help you enjoy your home even more. Contact us online or call us at 817-595-3200 / 972-869-9033.
