Consider Other Window Types - Skylights and Tube Skylights

Skylights:

Skylights bath rooms with natural light that normally would receive little to no outside light, while making the rooms appear more spacious.  In addition, skylights help to reduce the need for electric lighting and help reduce energy bills.

Skylights are windows in the roof, but unlike windows that are in the side of a home, skylights frames are designed and flashed to work with the roofing material to usher away rain and snow as well as to withstand the harsh exposure to the elements roofs receives.  In addition, newer skylights are equipped with channels to carry away condensation. 

Skylights rely on its shaft to govern how the light is delivered into the room.  If the four sides of the shaft are flared, then the light will cover a wide area.  However, if the shaft has perpendicular sides then the light will be focused straight below.  On the other hand, if the shift of the skylight is flared on one or two sides, then the light will be disbursed in the direction of the flare.

Older skylights were glazed with plastic as it is lightweight and economical, even some newer skylights today have plastic, however, plastic can be easily broken and in some cases, the plastic glaze actually become concaved from the heat of the sun, resulting in the skylight having to be replaced.  Today, most skylights are glazed with acrylic or polycarbonate, while others are glazed with glass.  Homeowners prefer Glass as it doesn't scratch and dull as readily as plastic.  However, glass skylights are only available in limited sizes and styles.

Glassed skylights are available in single, double, or triple glazing and with low-E energy-saving glass or argon-gas-filled panes.  In addition, if you are concerned about UV damaging rays from the sun harming your carpets or furniture, UV-blocking glass is available as well.  Other options for reducing and control the amount of sunlight include operable skylight controls such as built-in blinds, horizontal curtains or shades and UV-blocking insect screens.

Operable skylights can also include the ability to open the skylight in order to vent heat buildup and let in fresh air.

A hand crank manually operates some skylights, while others have remote controls or wall switches.  Manual skylights are opened and closed with the use of an extended rod.  However, if the ceiling height is more than 15 feet, the extended rod will not reach.  

Electronically controlled skylights controls don’t have a limit on ceiling heights, which is one reason they have become increasingly more popular than the manual controlled skylights.  The simple 2-function control model can be wired directly to an existing wall-mounted light switch.  In addition, several skylight models have built-in shades or blinds.  These can be controlled either by a wireless remote control or by a special wall console that allow you to open or close the blinds or raise and lower them as well as open and close the skylight to allow ventilation.  Some remote controls, are programmed so that the skylight can be opened or closed at a preset time.

If you want to go even more high-tech, some higher-end models are automatic, opening, and closing due to temperature and moisture sensors that open the skylights when the interior ceiling temperature reaches a pre set degree and then closing when rain-triggered sensors close the skylight when moisture poses a threat to the interior space. 

Tube Skylights:

Tubular skylights are an excellent choice for bringing natural light into a room that’s ceiling is not directly aligned with the roof.  Tubular skylights have a roof-mounted dome that collects sunlight then delivers it through a highly reflective tubular shaft into the room.  Tube skylights are less expensive and easier to install than conventional skylights because they are designed to fit between roof and ceiling support beams and framing members, which eliminates the added expense of modifying the existing roof and ceiling.  In addition, because of the shafts interior highly reflective coating, the tube can be bent and routed around obstructions without interfering with the amount of light entering the room.  

Another benefit is that less heat is transferred into the room by tubular skylights than by many standard skylights, which reduces energy bills during the warmer months.  As with standard skylights, tube skylights are available with UV inhibitors that are molded into the rooftop dome.

When shopping for tubular skylights, you will notice that they range in size between 10 and 21 inches in diameter, which can effectively light an area between 100- to 600-square-foot.  However, the size of tubular skylight needed is based on the spacing between roof rafters and/or ceiling joists and not on the square footage, you want to light. 

When shopping for tubular skylights consider purchase a leading brand that offer 10-years warranties against material defects and post-installation cracking or discoloration.  Solatube and Sun-Dome are two of the manufacturers who do offer such warranties.  

Please visit their websites at:  http://www.solatube.com  and http://www.sun-dome.com