Have you ever stood in a room in your house and wondered, “What’s missing?”
In the living room you carefully selected a paint color to complement the fabric on your furniture. The kitchen cabinets show off your countertops perfectly. The master bathroom has a garden tub of your dreams. And yet you have a lingering feeling that something is missing.
It’s daylight.
The easiest way to transform a room is by adding daylight from above by installing skylights. But what questions should you ask when considering a skylight installation?
“The first thing to consider is whether you need ventilation and daylight or just daylight,” said Elizabeth Saede, owner of Eco Solar and Skylights in Granby, Connecticut, a VELUX 5-Star Specialist. “For rooms that generate any kind of moisture, like bathrooms or kitchens, I always recommend venting skylights.”
VELUX venting skylights can open to let air out of the room and help to bring fresh air into the home.
“If you have a venting skylight installed on one side of the home and open windows on the opposite ground level side of the home you can create what is known as passive ventilation,” Saede said. “Pulling air through the home without using your electric ventilation system can help save money on monthly cooling costs.”
Homeowners should also consider the size of the room and the direction it faces. For large rooms, multiple skylights may be needed to create a truly open appearance. Also, keep in mind that south facing rooms will get more sunlight than rooms facing other directions so blinds may be necessary.
“There are a variety of blinds to help control light including Venetian, blackout and roller,” Saede said. “My favorite is the blackout option because it can block 98 percent of the light, which is ideal for when you want to darken the room to watch a movie or control the temperature of the room.”
Roller blinds diffuse the light and Venetian blinds provide a stylish method of controlling the light. Both the blackout and roller blinds are available with a solar battery and remote control, so homeowners can easily open and close them using only solar power.
“The solar battery blinds are a great option because in addition to saving energy, they do not require any wiring during installation,” Saede said. “Another bonus is that through Dec. 31, 2016, solar battery blinds qualify for a 30 percent federal tax credit.”
So when you consider what home improvement project to do next, consider giving your existing rooms a design boost by bringing them into the light.