Most of us are familiar with the benefits of skylights in terms of lowering electricity bills incurred from artificial light sources, but are they utilized as much as they could be?
The most common use of skylights is in homes, although commercial buildings certainly do employ them on a grandeur scale. Whether it be a two story luxury home, a one story custom home, or even a one story addition or two story pop-top/addition, there’s opportunity for creative architectural placement.
An Architect is always cognizant of implementing natural light into a home, but typically skylights are not used much, or at all. At BSA Inc. Design & Construction, almost all of our residential projects contain double glazed, energy efficient skylights, some in unique spaces:
Master Closet: Placement of a small (2’x2’) skylight in the center of the closet, will add a soft glow of natural light to the walking areas, while the hanging clothes are not incumbered by any deterioration.
Halls: In lieu of transitioning through a drab and typically dark hallway, a rectangular skylight (2’x4’) placed in the center of a typically longitudinal space, can contribute to some positive feelings daily.
Master Shower: A skylight in the shower really is getting close (inside a house anyway) to standing under a waterfall with the beautiful blue sky above. Also, it provides some support for visual needs, even if it’s just reading something on a shampoo bottle.
Kitchen: If there’s a large kitchen on a one story ranch style home for instance, a 4’x4’ skylight can be a big wow feature. The natural light will bath the countertop material, flooring and assist with ease of daily chores at the sink area.
Stairways: A skylight placed strategically over the mid-landing of a stairway, will provide refreshing beauty to the treads and landing which is often an attractive wood, is a daily safety feature for kids traversing up and down and at night with low voltage lighting on a dimmer in the well, creates a pleasing atmosphere.
Garage: Any where from two to four skylights in this space can be very useful. Upon approach with your car during the day, when the garage door opens there is a welcomed comfortable visual throughout this space. As well, storage, workshop counters, bikes, etc. can be accessed and utilized confidently, without even turning on a light.
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