Preparing for Hard Times: Sky Lighting

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sky Lighting

www.skyflexskylights.com

A skylight offers light without draining power from the grid. Once the initial cost of adjusting the roof is absorbed, the light is free. You have a window for observation, for escape or to view the weather and it's changes. This project is simple enough to do yourself. The parts are available at most hardware stores.

Solar 7-1/2-in x 27-in x 51-in Impact Skylight

http://www.lowes.com

This one is available through Lowes for around $110.

http://www.savenrg.com/skylite.htm

Tubular skylights offer a reflective tube that amplifies the light without increasing the heat coming into the home. The last thing I want is to add heat to a house in the summer. The tubular skylight website has before pictures and after showing the bright light from the sun.

I am so thinking skylight in the bathroom to start. I don't turn on the switch at night, I know where everything is and what I am doing in there! But in the morning, I need light to get myself going. I thought why not sunlight? That is where I am going to start.

I have also thought lately, that the window coverings I use to keep prying eyes out, has made my home dark. Even though I use smart light bulbs and fluorescent light, it isn't very bright in here. It can be depressing. Then, I thought, well, yes, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a real illness. It is often called winter blues. The treatment is exposure to light. How great is that? The sun is right there, even in the cold, but with a skylight you don't have to sit in the chill to get the benefit of the sun. Yuppers!, I am getting to work on a skylight project.

I will save even more money on electricity from not flipping on lights during the day. I will feel better without roasting in the sun. I could have another way out of the house in an emergency that will put me at the advantage of being on the roof. I have some research to do. Until then, here are some links to other examples of skylighting.