A Simple Solution With Many Benefits
A skylight or rooflight will open up the dingiest parts of your home, flooding them with natural light. If you are a business owner installing skylights can help you create a more productive atmosphere and reduce your monthly energy bills. But those are only a couple of the myriad benefits created by installing skylights and rooflights. Others include:
Enhanced curb appeal: Did you know that how your home is perceived by passersby has a big effect on its value? It's true. Curb appeal, as it's known, can affect your home's value by up to 10%. As such, a single skylight, visible from the street, may produce a nice bump in your home's valuation.
Greater energy efficiency: We're all looking for ways to meet the government's stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. One way to ensure your home is doing its part is by installing skylights or rooflights. They can significantly reduce your monthly energy consumption.
Less stress on your HVAC system: In the winter your home will be flooded with warm natural light, reducing stress on your heating system. In the summer a skylight that opens can create beneficial airflow that reduces stress on your AC system.
A more hygienic home: Potentially harmful types of mould and bacteria love damp, dark places. By installing a skylight or rooflight that opens the increased airflow will result in a brighter, drier home that wards off the development of these microscopic intruders.
Planning Permission: Is It Necessary?
In some cases it is and in some, it is not. As long as the skylight or rooflight does not protrude above the highest point of your existing roof or rise more than 15 cm above the established roof plane then permission may not be needed. It likely will be needed if your home is a Listed Building or it is in a Conservation Area.
