Because most skylights are up out of reach, manufacturers provide several methods for opening them. The most common and affordable is a pole that you crank—this works for ceilings less than 15 feet high. Velux offers a battery-powered, motorized pole.

Nearly all major manufacturers offer motorized, operable skylights as an option. Controlled at a wall switch or by a hand-held remote, these cost a bit more than manually operated types and require routing electrical wires to the skylight, but they pay big dividends in convenience with a skylight that is opened and closed frequently or that’s well out of reach.

Velux and Milgard’s remote-controlled versions feature a rain sensor that automatically closes the skylight when it detects moisture. In other sophisticated models, heat sensors can trigger the skylight to open when the room’s heat reaches a certain temperature. Some wireless remote controls can be programmed to operate the skylight at a preset time.

Sky windows, also called roof windows, are quite different from standard operable skylights. These are built more like a window—they pivot at the center. Meant for mounting in an attic room or similar location where you can reach them, these can be opened wide. In fact, you can pivot them all the way around for easy cleaning of the outside surface. Andersen has a similar product, called “Vent Tilt,” that is essentially a venting skylight that you can rotate for cleaning.

Is it a skylight or is it a roof window? Manufacturers apply different names to their products. Several manufacturers—Ventarama is one—use the term “skylight” to refer to both fixed and operable units. Others, Velux for example, call their fixed and ventilating models skylights and term pivoting units roof windows. Some, such as Benjamin Obdyke, refer to both fixed and operable skylights as roof windows. Still others have their own descriptive name, APC’s “Roof-Lights,” for example, for both operable and fixed skylights.