Don Vandervort, Head Homeboy, has written more than 30 DIY home improvement books, been a segment host on HGTV, served as MSN.com's home improvement expert and written countless magazine articles.
Skylights provide up to 30 percent more natural light than vertical windows, and they can make a small space seem larger. In a bathroom with limited wall space, a skylight may be your only means of bringing in more daylight. One with clear glass focuses bright light on a small spot; a skylight with obscure glass or acrylic supplies more-general illumination.
Like windows, skylights are either stationary or operable. Fixed skylights may be flat or dome-shaped and provide illumination only.
Ventilating models can be opened and closed by means of a hand crank, wall switch, remote control, or high-tech automatic temperature sensor. When it’s open, a ventilating skylight can create an updraft to draw hot, steamy air from the bathroom. An open skylight can vent hot air and is compatible with air conditioning since cold air stays near the ground.
Old-fashioned skylights were simply a single thickness of glass in a frame, but today they come with low-E and tinted coatings to control heat transmission and UV radiation. Skylights are rated for their thermal efficiency in the same way windows are, so you can compare R-values and U-values. As an alternative to tinted glass, which darkens the room, you can get shades or blinds for your skylight. Ventilating skylights can be equipped with screens to keep out bugs.
When a full-size skylight is too big for your bathroom, you can get almost as much light from a tubular skylight. Just 10 to 18 inches in diameter, tubular skylights consist of a clear dome over a reflective shaft that ends at the ceiling with a sealed diffuser. The system provides an enormous amount of light for its small size, and it’s sealed to minimize heat gain and loss.
