There’s nothing like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day. Or having sunlight streaming through your window on a chilly winter morning. But the advantages of having natural light and fresh air circulating in your home go beyond this and are important throughout the year. And it’s especially important nowadays, since most of us spend up to 90% of our time indoors where the air can be up to five times more polluted than outside.
Fortunately, a skylight can help. It’s the perfect solution to getting the right amount of natural light into your home, since skylights can deliver two times the amount of daylight as vertical windows and are great for funneling light into the centre of the home. They are designed to work with your vertical windows to provide even light levels, making for a brighter space.
With a VELUX programmable venting skylight, you can take advantage of the stack or chimney effect to air out your home most effectively. The stack effect promotes skylights and vertical windows working together to enhance your home’s natural airflow and ventilation to achieve optimal indoor air performance. By opening your skylight, hot air, odours and toxins that rise to the highest point in the home can escape through the roof, creating a healthier indoor environment. Plus, you’ll save on energy bills and give your home a healthy, bright and inviting feeling throughout the day.
Before you get started, learn more about the surprising benefits natural light and fresh air can bring:
- Mind and mood. Getting the right amount of daylight is essential for our health and well-being. That’s because natural sunlight causes our brain to produce serotonin, a hormone that’s responsible for improving mood, alleviating pain and increasing energy levels. In fact, increased exposure to natural light can even reduce the risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), a condition that is experienced by 2 to 3% of Canadians, and reduce the risk of the winter blues, which is experienced by 15% of us. Here are some other ways your home environment can improve your mental well being.
- Connection to nature. Since today we spend the bulk of our time inside, we are now known as “The Indoor Generation.” But this means we lose our link to nature, which can be grounding, freeing and relaxing. However, with a skylight natural light and ventilation work together to connect you to the outdoors. This lets you create and enjoy a calmer and more productive environment in your home while still being able to do the things you want and need to do indoors, like cooking, eating meals, cleaning and watching television or playing with the kids.
- Brain power. Proper daylighting can increase concentration and alertness, helping you stay focused on the task at hand. Increased exposure to natural light increases short-term memory and productivity, which is especially important to know if you have a home office or work from home, and if you have kids who do their homework in dark spaces. Research even shows that people perform 10 to 25% better on tests of mental function and memory recall when they work in a room with daylight when compared to a room with no daylight.
- Better sleep. Did you know that good indoor air quality can help you sleep better at night? Plus, exposure to direct sunlight, especially in the morning, for at least 30 minutes will improve the length and quality of your sleep at night. With our solar powered room darkening programmable blinds, you can be sure to get a good night’s rest and still wake up with natural light when you want.
- Physical boost. Besides providing the pleasant feeling of sitting in natural daylight, exposure to natural light and fresh air improves energy levels throughout the day, as well as the rate of physical activity. It can even improve your metabolism, contributing to an overall healthier lifestyle. And if you’re recovering from illness, bursts of light can help with this too — rooms with ample sunlight have been shown to help hospital patients heal faster after surgical procedures.
