Styles of rooflights and skylights

While there are many benefits of bringing natural light into every room, given its position away from the rest of the house, it is even more important in your loft area features windows, as they bring connection to the outside world and rest of the house.

Adding windows makes the space more inviting, bringing psychological and physical benefits to improve overall wellbeing. And did you know natural light can improve the quality of your sleep? Most of us need that. 

In our last blog, we looked at the difference between rooflights, skylights and roof windows. Hopefully that helped to give some clear definitions of the differences between those styles, so now we are ready to find out more about the different types of rooflights and skylights. There’s a large variety of windows to choose from in these styles, including:

Opening rooflights: this style is great when you don’t need roof access but you would like your window to have a small opening, as it only opens to a certain point, allowing for ventilation and access control. 

Roof lanterns: this is a more contemporary style which can be customised to suit different types of building – whether residential or commercial. 

Electric rooflights: electric hinges allow these windows to be opened and controlled from either a panel or remote, which makes them ideal to bring light and ventilation to rooms with high out-of-reach roofs/ceilings. 

Sliding rooflights: able to support its own weight, without the need for tracks, this type of rooflight slides to allow for natural light and fresh air too. 

Walk on rooflights: will you be featuring a terrace or balcony in your loft area? Or will the work you’re having done on your home include a downstairs or basement which needs light? These windows are perfect to walk on, as the name implies, as they are strengthened to support weight, while allowing light and air into the room.

Sun tubes: these were quite a big thing a few years ago, as they offered something completely different: light into hard to reach and dark places. Literally tubes, they run down from the roof, into the space that’s needed, ensuring the light is continued and dispersed through with reflective tubing.

And there’s another important choice to make… would you like glass or polycarbonate to sit in those frames? 

Obviously glass is the more traditional choice which we all know, so you can imagine its look and feel and you’re aware of how safe it is. Different types of glazing also alter the level of insulation – some of you may remember what it’s like to have single glazed windows. Would you consider anything different? Polycarbonate windows are strong, relatively lightweight and are often cheaper. 

If you would like any more information about different types of roof windows along with your loft conversion, we would love to help you. Please get in touch…