Are skylights energy efficient?
Installing skylights can make a significant difference to a property. As well as allowing more natural light to enter the home, skylights can give the property a sleek, contemporary aesthetic.
If you are considering installing a rooflight, another important factor will probably be - will it improve energy efficiency? With domestic energy prices continuing to increase, home improvements that increase energy efficiency have become a top priority for homeowners.
Even the smallest changes to your home can deliver long-term energy savings, so if you’re wondering - are skylights energy efficient?; the good news is that there are multiple energy saving benefits to installing skylights.
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How skylights can improve energy efficiency
The main way that skylights can improve energy efficiency is by increasing the amount of natural light in a property. Whether you add one large skylight, a grid of smaller skylights or just a smaller one, throughout the daylight hours, this reduces the requirement for artificial lighting.
Another way that skylights can improve energy efficiency is by warming up a room naturally, without using the heating system. On sunny days, the infrared radiation from the direct sunlight transfers heat into the room, which helps to reduce heatings costs.
Are there any potential concerns when installing skylights?
Rooflights can be a great addition to your home, as long as you ensure they are installed well and that you choose a good skylight design. For optimal energy efficiency, you should be looking for double or triple glazing, and fixed rooflights ensure they are fully sealed so no heat will escape through gaps. Skylights with poor insulation performance will have a risk of heat loss during winter and any other cold times of the year.
The easiest type of skylight to install is a flat, fixed skylight, so if you are considering a DIY installation, this is your better option for ensuring there are no flaws in the installation. Properly sealing the skylight is an important factor in ensuring skylights are more energy efficient.
You should also ensure that you carefully select the best position to optimise the light. For example, a south facing skylight will benefit from the most sunlight and installing your skylight in a prominent place will be key to maximise the use of daylight.
Choosing an energy efficient skylight
When you are choosing your skylight design, compare the different levels of insulation. For example, the aluminium frame rooflights at Rooflights and Skylights UK includes a thermal break to provide an insulated barrier. This significantly reduces heart transfer to provide a high level of insulation and energy efficiency.
You can choose energy saving glass, which will be shown by the U-Value. The U-Value is the calculation of the amount of heat loss in a material. The minimum requirements of U-Value for domestic properties, as directed by the part L building regulation, is 1.6 W/m2k.
For the most energy efficient skylights, you should choose a low U-Value of below 1 W/m2k or better, as the lower the number, the better the insulation performance. At Rooflights and Skylights UK, our skylights have a U-Value of up to 0.5, which is one of the lowest you will find.
The other detail to check is whether the rooflight is air tight and water tight. You will see from our range of skylights that all these energy efficient properties come as standard in our skylights.
If you are looking to add a stylish, affordable skylight to your home, while choosing the most energy efficient design, check out our range of high-quality skylights at Rooflights and Skylights UK.