Installing rooflights in a residential or commercial space offer quite some benefits and a few of them could be like the followings:

1. The first obvious benefit is that they provide with natural lights as long as the sun is out. Depending on their position and size, they can dramatically reduce the use of electricity generally used for artificial lights.
2. In addition to natural lights, they also let in outside warmth, thus making the indoor more energy efficient. A space with one of these could save up to 20% in annual energy expenditure.
3. The access of natural light and warmth makes the space more resistant to mildew, fungal and bacterial build-up, which is essential for people who have irregular respiratory system conditions like asthma.
4. Sunlight that passes through also help in fighting against vitamin D deficiencies. Access of natural light also seems to make better working conditions and generally produce a sense of feeling healthy.

So naturally they offer a lot of benefits and installing one of these cannot be a wrong decision. All you need to know is what makes one of these appropriate for you.

What to Consider Before Buying

Let us now look at a few decisive factors while shopping for rooflights.

Size: As anyone can guess, its size has a direct impact on its efficiency and that means, bigger is not necessarily the better. Even a small one can light up a moderate space if installed properly. If its size fails to complement the size of the room where it would be installed, it would naturally provide with excess or insufficient light and heat.

Type: Basically, there are two types: opening and fixed. As the name suggests, opening ones can be opened or closed as per necessity. Simply pressing a switch is enough to switch between the two states. In addition to light and warmth, they also provide with better ventilation and air circulation, making them a better choice for people who cannot install traditional windows for those similar purposes. They can be fitted with various sensors that can detect wind speed and humidity and automatically close or open them. However, for obvious reasons, it is always a good idea to fit an insect screen as well. On the other hand, fixed ones cannot be opened, but they are much cheaper than their opening counterparts.

Location: Where you want to install it is also important. For continual and cool illumination, north-facing roofs are the best. East facing roofs will provide maximum light and heat in the morning while the west facing ones will do that during the afternoons. South facing ones let in the most heat during winters but the same could happen during much warmer seasons as well. After choosing the direction, the structure of the house/space could directly affect its size.

Insulation: The insulation rate decides how much heat can be contained inside the house. Insulation depends on glazing that is, how many layers of glass it has. Naturally, more layers lead to better heat conservation, which is not necessarily a standard good thing. Insulation rate is measure by U-value and the lower it is, the less heat can escape through it.

After considering all these, realize how much you are willing to spend. This is why it is healthy to keep a flexible budget while shopping for rooflights.