Content provided by Velux
(ARA) - Spring and summer needn't be the only seasons of "green." In fact, winter is a great time to green your home, especially if you undertake improvements that deliver environmental, economic, emotional and physical health benefits. Adding a skylight delivers all those green pluses - and it's doable even during winter.
"Modern skylights can be installed in as little time as a day by a trained professional," says Joe Patrick, senior product manager of skylight manufacturer Velux. "Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, creating a natural light-filled environment, but they're also environmentally friendly in many ways."
Natural lighting
What's the only kind of light that's 100 percent energy efficient and the use of which doesn't emit greenhouse gases? The answer is sunlight, and you can use the power of the sun to create a bright, warm environment in your home this winter. Skylights brighten your home with light from above, even on rainy winter days when the sun stays hidden behind clouds. Installing a skylight can help reduce energy bills because the natural light of the sun can reduce your need for electric lights and, on sunny days, help warm your home. Just be sure to choose an energy-efficient skylight that is Energy Star qualified.
Natural ventilation
Other forms of home ventilation require electricity to power exhaust fans, but a skylight can offer healthy passive ventilation. Modern venting skylights admit fresh air while silently removing stale indoor air. The chimney effect of an open skylight vents volatile organic compounds (VOCs), humidity and stale air out of the home far more effectively than an open window. Current green building guidelines encourage the use of natural ventilation for its health and energy conservation benefits.
Passive ventilation can help alleviate "sick house" symptoms that develop when a house doesn't "breathe" - or exchange stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air. Many items in the home, from adhesives, upholstery and carpet to the furnace, fireplaces, and even pressed wood cabinets and cupboards, can emit VOCs into your home environment. Short-term exposure to VOCs can cause headaches, nausea, eye irritation, sore throat and nasal irritation. Venting VOCs through a skylight can improve the overall healthfulness of your indoor environment, especially in winter when homes tend to be closed up and VOCs build up.
SAD responds to sunlight
Ventilating our homes during the winter isn't the only health consideration that skylights can address. Bringing more natural light into our daily lives may be more important for our health than many people realize. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is known to be related to how much sunlight we receive. Individuals with SAD may experience emotional depression, a drop in physical energy, increased appetite, and increased need for sleep.
Bright-light therapy can benefit people with SAD. In fact, some researchers conclude that light therapy may help alleviate SAD symptoms faster than antidepressant drugs. In a review of clinical trials of light therapy, Dr. Daniel Kripke at the University of California, San Diego reported that light therapy benefits not only SAD patients, but also people suffering from other forms of depression.
Winter is the right time
You may avoid a home improvement that requires opening a roof during winter. But the winter-busting benefits of a skylight can outweigh any minor inconveniences of installation. Trained installers can quickly add a skylight to virtually any room in your home.
And don't worry about winter precipitation. Today's skylights, when properly installed with matched flashing kits, eliminate leak concerns. In fact, Velux offers "no-leak" deck-mounted skylights with both a product guarantee and an installation guarantee.
The basics
There are two basic types of traditional skylights - fixed, which do not open, and venting, which can be opened and closed manually or by remote control. A third type, tubular, such as the Velux Sun Tunnel, provides cost-effective, passive light in smaller areas such as closets, laundry rooms, pantries, hallways or second baths. These units also have light kits for nighttime use.
Accessories allow you to control the light or heat entering your home through your skylight. Venetian blinds, blackout blinds and roller blinds are available. Depending on what type you choose, you can completely block light entering through the skylight or soften the light to a diffused, gentle glow. Like electric skylights, accessories can be controlled with a remote.
Advanced double pane LoE3 insulated glass in the newest skylights reduces heat gain by 64 percent compared to ordinary glass and by 35 percent compared to earlier LoE2 glass, providing more daylight and better heat control for year-round comfort and energy savings.
To learn more about sustainable living and the green benefits of skylights in winter and year round, visit veluxusa.com. For additional information on window and skylight energy efficiency visit energystar.gov, nfrc.org or efficientwindows.org
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Content appearing on this page is supplied by third-parties on behalf of sponsors and does not necessarily reflect the views of this Station.
