Benefits of a large skylight

Maximum daylight

One of the most obvious benefits of choosing a larger skylight is that it provides you with huge amounts of daylight in your home.

There are many health benefits of natural daylight. When exposed to sunlight, the skin absorbs vitamin D, a critical nutrient that prevents bone loss and reduces the risk of heart disease, weight gain, and various cancers. This can be be from daylight from outdoors but also indoors, meaning increasing your natural light where you spend the most time, be it home or the workplace, is equally important.

Decreases effects of seasonal depression

In the darker months some people suffer with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. SAD is sometimes known as “winter depression” because the symptoms are usually more apparent and more severe during the winter when there is less daylight. Choosing a larger skylight will ensure you get the most daylight you can during these darker months which should help minimize the effects of seasonal depression.

Improves sleep

Since mental health and sleep often go hand in hand, it’s not surprising that natural light affects both. Many studies have revealed that sun exposure improves the quality of sleep, state of sleep, and sleep patterns. Furthermore, it improves the quality of life. Previous studies on the correlation between sunlight and sleep reported that changes in melatonin secretion improved the quality of sleep.

Sunlight affects your sleep because it affects your body and its natural rhythms. “Exposure to daylight is really critical to maintain a healthy circadian system and the sleep hygiene that comes with it,” senior study author Horacio de la Iglesia, PhD, a biology professor at the University of Washington, told Healthline.

Reduces health risks of fluorescent lighting

The more time you spend in a source of natural light, the less time you’ll likely spend in the unnatural light of fluorescent bulbs. Though compact fluorescent lamps are generally recognized as safe, for some people, exposure to fluorescent light appears to elicit an elevated stress response.

With CFLs (compact florescent light bulbs) as your main light source day in and day out, this could increase your risk for migraines and eye strain.

Ventilation

Glazing Vision can offer large skylights which are able to open, allowing you to ventilate your home. Proper ventilation keeps the air fresh and healthy indoors. Like the lungs, homes need to be able to breathe to make sure that fresh air comes in and dirty air goes out. Air indoors can build up high levels of moisture, odors, gases, dust, and other air pollutants. To keep the air safe indoors, fresh outdoor air is needed to dilute these indoor pollutants.

To provide good air quality, enough air needs to be brought in and circulated so that it reaches all areas of the home, and skylights are a great way of achieving this.

Things to consider

If you are looking for your skylight to open for ventilation, your options are either to retract the skylight or hinge open the skylight. In both instances, weight can become a challenge. The larger the skylight the bigger the motors need to be to move the skylight.

Installation

When you choose a large glass skylight keep in mind the installation process as the size and weight can be challenging. It is likely that you will need a crane and a road closure to get the skylight to the roof.

Solar Control Glass

Another factor that you need to consider is thermal heat stress. This can be prevented with solar control glass or a tint you want your skylight to be. While most people choose for their glass not to be tinted, it can be different when you have large skylights. You have to decide whether you want your home to be full of complete natural light or if you want it to be dimmer inside. Which direction is your home facing, will the room be soaked in daylight all day or only for part of the day.

Despite the challenges that larger skylights can bring, they are certain to bring a wide range of benefits.

Want to learn more or have a skylight project you’d like to discuss? Contact us today, we’d be happy to help!