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How Do Skylights Work? All About Skylight Installation

Skylights are a great way to bring in natural light and add character to your home. They come in several shapes and sizes, so it’s important to know how they work before you purchase. In this guide, we will explain everything you need to know about skylights, including skylight installation, to ensure you make the right choice for your home.

Different Types of Skylights

There are many different styles of skylights available, but typically we think about three common categories:

• Fixed skylights: These are also referred to as ‘roof windows’ because they are essentially just a panel in your roof that acts like a window. It lets light in, and you can see through it at night. These are usually only suitable for homes with a very small roof cavity, or no roof cavity at all (in the case of sheds and garages).
• Tubular skylights: The most popular in the Australian market, tubular skylights feature an access point on the roof where sunlight is captured. This can be round, square, or a dome. From there, a mirrored or foil tube runs through your roof cavity where it transfers the light through a diffuser in your ceiling.
• Solar skylights: Rather than a traditional skylight design, solar skylights feature an LED light powered by solar panels on your roof. Versions are available with a battery, which allows you to enjoy free lighting day and night.

The type you choose depends on the available space in and on your roof, and of course, personal preference.

Skylight Installation: How Does a Tubular Skylight Work?

We’re going to talk about the MaxLight tubular skylight, the Australian made tubular skylight manufactured here at SolarBright. This innovative design ensures quality natural light spills into your home without the additional heat that comes from some skylight varieties.

First, sunlight is captured from all angles via a dome installed on your roof. The sunlight then passes through a highly mirrored metal tube. The light bounces down through this tube, amplifying it until it reaches a triple-lens diffuser that’s installed inside your home on the ceiling. The diffuser spreads the sunlight throughout the room, giving you free, natural light.

To find out more, check out this MaxLight Skylight video.

Are Skylights Suitable for all Homes?

Yes skylights are suitable for most homes, but depending on your roof design, you may be limited in the options you can choose. Fortunately, tubular skylights are suitable for almost every home, as long as there is space for the metal tube that runs from your external roof to your internal ceiling.

Skylights can be installed in any room, and they don’t have to be located directly above a specific area of the home. The tube section of a tubular skylight can be manipulated to an extent, so you can enjoy light where you need it.

In those situations where a tubular MaxLight skylight cannot be installed there is always the option of installing an LED solar skylight.

Skylights and Energy Efficiency

While skylights are great for providing natural light, there are other benefits too. Since a high-quality skylight installation reduces the need for artificial light, you’ll start saving money on electricity costs straight away.

In summer,a MaxLight gives you plenty of natural light, but won’t let in the heat. Heat transfer is an issue with roof window type skylights and needs to be managed carefully. If you are considering this type of skylight our advice is to install a remote controlled blind. Although this costs several hundred dollars, you can cover the skylight window glass on warm days to keep out the extra heat it can let in.

Using a Dimmer with Skylights

The MaxDIM skylight dimmer is available with all MaxLight tubular skylights. This innovative technology allows you to control the intensity of the light coming into your home. It’s a simple remote control operation, and the mechanism is powered by a small solar panel on your roof. So, even your skylight dimmer function is energy-efficient.

Solar-Powered MaxBeam24

Thanks to SolarBright, you can now get a skylight that works both day and night. The MaxBeam24 system consists of a solar panel, battery, and a ring of LED lights inside your skylight tube. During the day, your skylight works as normal letting in sunlight while the solar panel collects energy to store in the battery. When the sun goes down, you can access solar power from the battery to power the ring of LED lights in the tube near your diffuser.

This system is completely independent of the power grid, so you can access free, solar-powered lighting 24 hours a day with a MaxLight and MaxBeam skylight installation.

Need the Best Skylights in Sydney?

When you want high-quality skylight solutions for your home, look no further than SolarBright. Our MaxLight Tubular skylights feature cutting-edge technology that fills your home with natural light. We can even include the MaxDIM solar-powered dimmer and the MaxBeam24 solar-powered lighting solution for evenings. With these innovative lighting solutions, you can cut energy costs and enjoy beautiful, natural light in your home all day. To find out more, check out our MaxLight Skylights today.