Skylights or Sun Tunnels: Which One Should You Choose?

Bringing natural light into your home does more than just lower your energy expenditures. It also boosts your mood, enhances productivity and provides your body with much-needed vitamin D. However, the windows you have at home might not be enough to harness the light that the sun brings in the morning and afternoon. 

This is where skylights and sun tunnels come into play. Both options can help brighten the dark or artificially lit areas of your home. But which one should you choose?

Skylights

Set into the roof of your home, skylights are rectangular-shape fixtures that are made of glass, acrylic or polycarbonate materials. During installation, they are surrounded by frames and connected to the roof via flashings, which are crucial components to ensure water doesn’t leak into your home.

The size of skylights can range between 12-by-12-inch squares to large rectangles. Going for bigger skylights is better, especially since these can help bring more sunlight into your home. However, you must make sure they don’t go over 15% of the room’s square footage. More importantly, these should be installed by a contractor who also provides quality roofing services like Balken Roofing.

Sun Tunnels

Sun tunnels, also known as solar tubes, light tubes or tubular skylights, work the same way as skylights, but they’re set into the roof differently. Here, an acrylic or polycarbonate dome that’s attached to the roof captures sunlight, which is then reflected toward a sheet metal tube in the attic. The room receives natural light, which shines on the diffusing lens in the ceiling.

The size of sun tunnels range between 10 and 14 inches, but they can be bigger depending on the daylighting needs of your home. While sun tunnel installations are much easier than that of skylights, that doesn’t mean they should be DIYed. They require flashings to keep condensation and leaks out, so it makes sense to have them installed by a team of professionals.

Bring light into your once-dark living spaces with skylights and sun tunnels from Balken Roofing. We are proud to be a VELUX® Five-Star Certified Installer, which means you can have peace of mind knowing that our trained team will install either one of these products with unmatched precision and workmanship. Talk to us today so we can pick the best solution for your home!

Count on us for your commercial and residential roofing systems as well. Call us now at (828) 628-0390, or fill out our contact form to request an estimate. We serve homeowners in and around Asheville, NC.