"Daylighting" improvements that boost your home's brightness and energy efficiency offer substantial return on investment for both home sellers and those who will be staying in their homes for the foreseeable future.
Bringing the daylighting concept home
Industrial and office designers have long used daylighting - the concept of illuminating interior spaces with natural light from above - to improve energy efficiency, healthfulness and functionality of rooms. A stagnant housing market and sluggish economy raised homeowner interest in the concept.
"Daylighting improvements not only elevate a home's visual appeal for potential buyers, they can enhance a homeowners' enjoyment of their living space, and reduce energy costs," says Ross Vandermark, national product manager with skylight manufacturer VELUX America (www.veluxusa.com).
Homeowners who want to apply the principles of daylighting to their home have many options: they can add windows or roof windows or install any number of types of traditional skylights or Sun Tunnel tubular skylights.
The easiest daylighting upgrade
While adding a window in the wall of your home may raise practical and design issues, adding a roof window or skylight can be much easier. Roofs are, for the most part, a blank slate, allowing you to install skylights wherever they are needed most. And daylighting from above doesn't just add functionality: it offers room-changing drama and decorating flair.
Roof windows are hinged, hand operated venting units designed to be installed in easily accessible areas, such as the angled walls in attic bonus rooms. A double-sash roof window is also available that opens from both bottom and top to form a balcony on your roof. These units are often used in place of, or to replace, dormers.
Skylights are usually positioned higher on the ceiling, out of reach. The latest models from Velux America are no leak solar power fresh air skylights operated by remote control. These Energy Star-qualified units, which carry a 10-year no leak warranty, admit healthful natural light while providing passive ventilation through the natural "chimney or stack effect" of rising air when the skylights are open (and they feature sensors to automatically close in case of rain).
Both the solar powered skylights and installation, as well as solar powered blinds, are eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit meaning that homeowners can receive an average of $850 of federal tax credit eligibility, making the complete fresh air skylight package very affordable.
Skylights are popular with daylighting designers for several reasons. First, they easily fulfill the primary goal of daylighting by admitting more healthful natural light into a room than similar sized vertical windows--thereby reducing the need for energy to power artificial lights.
And there's another plus for fresh air skylights in today's tightly built and heavily insulated homes - indoor air quality. According to the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (www.greenguard.org), most of our exposure to environmental pollution occurs by breathing the air indoors
You can learn more about energy-efficient skylights and calculate your tax credit for a new or replacement model at www.veluxusa.com. For even more on skylights and other home energy saving tips visit energystar.gov.
Energy efficiency, high-tech and decorating in one package
Another important similarity among windows, roof windows and skylights is in the glazing, or how the glass is manufactured. Since the units are mounted facing directly at the sun, skylight-glazing technology has to be among the best in the industry. Quality Energy Star-qualified units feature double-pane, gas-filled construction to control heat gain or loss, and to filter the sun's fade-causing rays.
Independent research done in Denmark shows that skylights admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers, and provide the drama of a sky view that can't be achieved with vertical windows.
In addition to high-tech features such as remote control and automatic rain sensors, solar powered skylight blinds are available in a varied pallet of decor enhancing colors and patterns. Homeowners can utilize blinds as another decorating option while achieving as much as a 37 percent increase in energy efficiency, according to VELUX America. (Link to http://www.veluxusa.com).
They recommend closing the blinds on high heat/sun days in the summer to reduce potential solar heat gain and, on cold winter nights, to provide an extra layer of thermal insulation to keep warm air indoors.
Modern, low profile skylights are unobtrusive and as dependable as vertical windows. Information about units with a 10-year, no leak installation warranty, plus an installer locator, is available at www.veluxusa.com. There's also a free mobile phone app available to help homeowners see how skylights and blinds would look in rooms in their own homes. The Velux Skylight Planner App works with iPhones, iPods, iPads and Android devices.
For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency, visit energystar.gov, and for independent agency information, visit nfrc.org or efficientwindows.org. For remodeling information visit nahb.org/remodel or greenhomeguide.org.
Media Contact:
Keith Hobbs - Business Services Associates, Inc. - 9413 Greenfield Drive -
Raleigh, NC 27615-2306 - Phone - 919.844.0064 - E-mail - khobbs@nc.rr.com
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