Use skylight shades in the summer
Unshaded skylights can overheat a building interior.
Skylights are great for bringing natural light into a house, but they can also cause significant overheating and glare, especially when mounted on south or west roofs. The highest sunlight penetration, and thus unwanted heat gainIncrease in the amount of heat in a space, including heat transferred from outside (in the form of solar radiation) and heat generated within by people, lights, mechanical systems, and other sources. See heat loss., occurs when the sun's rays are perpendicular to the glass plane, most often during the summer and especially on south- and west-facing roofs. Some skylights come with electrochromic glazingWhen referring to windows or doors, the transparent or translucent layer that transmits light. High-performance glazing may include multiple layers of glass or plastic, low-e coatings, and low-conductivity gas fill. that allows tinting of the glass with a push of a button. Other options include internal, external, and between-glazing shades.
Learn more in the Green Building Encyclopedia
Sun: Passive Heating and Daylighting
Learn more in the Green Product Guide
Further Resources
Efficient Windows Collaborative
National Fenestration Research Council
SkyVision Free Software
Profiled in our Product Guide
