Can a Vented Skylight Lower the Temperature of My House?

Vented Skylights

• Skylights are a popular method of adding a little extra light to a room, but with vented skylights, you have the additional benefit of allowing an extra breeze and some fresh air into the room. While they do require the use of a special rod to reach the opening attachment for the window, they are different than their solid counterparts in that they can be open or shut depending on your personal preferences for the day.

Drafts in Summer

• If you are seeking to help cool your house during the summer months via natural means, vented skylights are one of several options. Because they help create drafts, they can work in combination with open windows in other areas of the house, forcing a flow of air that moves through the rooms and carries the hot air out and away from the building. This movement of air naturally cools things down.

Drafts in Winter

• Although drafts are a good thing in the summer months when the air is warmer and you want to keep things as cool as possible, in the winter months, drafts are definitely unwanted. Not only do they rob your house of the warmth necessary to keep everyone comfortable, but they can also increase your heating bill dramatically by allowing the hot air to escape.

Flashing and Sealing

• One of the most important aspects of a vented skylight is ensuring that the flashing and sealing are installed properly around the window. If not, you could have drafts, even when the opening seems to be closed, if the seal isn’t tight around the skylight. On top of that, moisture can leak through, damaging the framing around the house, eventually weakening things to the point that the skylight fails to seal at all, leaving a continual draft that cools the house, regardless of the season.