A skylight is a widow located on a roof that serves the purpose of letting light in during the day.  This window is made with glass or plastic and can appear transparent or cloudy.  Skylights can be seen in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings.  On a flat roof, domed skylights are usually installed but they sometimes follow the pitch of the roof.  Occasionally these skylights are used to circulate air along with letting light in.

Skylights serve many purposes.  The main reason skylights are installed is to increase the light that is being allowed into a room.  Since they let in light they make it so the light fixture doesn’t need to be turned on.  This drastically decreases the electric lighting bill.  During the winter months, residencial and commercial skylights let in so much light that the room will warm up diminishing the need to run the heat.

Skylights can be split into two categories: residential skylights (peaked roof) and commercial skylights (flat roof).  Tubular skylights are used in residential and commercial buildings.  Also known as light tubes or light pipes, these skylights carry light to another location and dispense light over its entire length.  These skylights are a long cylindrical shape lined with very reflective material that leads light rays throughout the building.  Buildings that have a roof structure extremely higher than the ceiling use tubular skylights to transfer light efficiently between the two.

Fixed Skylights are skylights that do not open.  That means their only purpose is to dispence light and are sometimes described as a window in the roof.  Typically these skylights are located in attics or stairwells that could use extra light.  Fixed skylights are very energy efficient and benefit people by saving them money on their energy bills by heating the room by letting in the sun’s energy.  Several people like to use fixed skylights to decorate or accent a room.

The third type of skylight is ventilating skylights.  Similar to their name, ventilating skylights ventilate a room by opening and letting air in.  These skylights can be opened electronically or manually depending on a person’s taste or the way the room is laid out.  Many times they can be seen in kitchens or bathrooms and help eliminate excess humidity.  Ventilating skylights can be upgraded to be sensor controlled by the temperature and open automatically.
During the summer skylights can let in too much heat.  Skylight shades can be placed over the skylight to lessen the amount of sunlight that enters the home.  This causes the room to look darker and can increase the value of the home.

Skylights serve multiple purposes.  They let in light to lighten up the darkest places or just to save money on the electric bill.  They help ventilate air flow throughout the room and reduce the amount of humidity.  When it gets too hot and bright outside, skylight shades can minimize the light and noise entering the room.  Skylights can be installed to add flair to the room or building.