Having a skylight has fantastic advantages. However, during hot summer days, they can also heat a room a little too much. If this window lights up a good portion of your home, you might be complaining of a hothouse due to the greenhouse effect. The light coming in from the skylight heats the room and has nowhere else to go. Even when you put your AC on the maximum, the rooms will not be cooled adequately.
It might seem hopeless, but there are some small steps you can take to ensure that your rooms remain cool during the hottest of days without removing the skylight. Window treatments professionals offer some advice.
Painting the Skylight
This is a straightforward DIY method of keeping your home fresh without the need to renovate and remove the skylight. Painting this hot roof window will prevent the sun from entering your home and heating it. You block the light, and you also block the heat; thus, your home stays cooler for a small amount of paint. But the main drawback of painting is that it is a permanent fix. It can be time-consuming to scrape off paint when the weather is not too hot anymore. The glass window will also be scratched due to the efforts of removing the paint. But it is a small sacrifice if the room becomes extremely hot due to the skylight window.
Use a Tarp to Cover It Up
Another quick and easy fix is to use a tarpaulin sheet to cover your skylight during scorching days. Purchase blue tarp, which measures longer than the skylight and install it by laying it on top and pinning down the excess fabric with bricks. Using this method will get you some ambient light and a blue-tinged room, but most of the heat will also be regulated. If your skylight is visible in the neighborhood, doing this will be an eyesore all season. But, as soon as summer is over, it is easy to remove the cover and enjoy the skylight without much trouble.
Installing Board Cover
This method needs some skill. Among the options, this one will not require you to climb to the roof. It will use a piece of foam insulation board that will fit securely into your skylight opening shaft. Outside this board, there is the need to attach some weather stripping. You’ll want this to fit tightly into the shaft so that opening or closing it will be easy. Likewise, the insulation board should effectively pin itself in place. However, the major drawback of using this method is the potential for the seals to fail or the glass to break.
Window Replacement
If you are not a DIY person, but you want to cool your home effectively, you can seek professional services to get better heat and light-reflecting windows. Ask a consultant for glass that is great to use for skylight windows and won’t trap heat in your home. This way, you can enjoy the natural light without suffering from too much heat absorbed into your home through this skylight.
Having a skylight will help you save on light and energy consumption, but it comes with some disadvantages too. You should expect to make some adjustments during the warmer months and think of ways to cool your home better without removing your skylight. Finding the perfect window replacement might be the ideal solution for this problem.
