Skylights for Homes

While skylights for homes is a relatively new concept, the see-through glass roof has a much longer history. In 1782 the first large-scale roof construction, almost entirely in glass, was completed in Paris at the Halle au Ble. In 1851 the Crystal Palace was constructed in London's Hyde Park to house the "Great Exhibition of 1851". In the United States the original Penn Station, built in New York City in 1910, had an expansive concourse roof made almost entirely of glass and steel.

The large-scale glass roof eventually gave rise to the idea of skylights for homes which begin slowly in the early 1940s. Before that time the main concern, from the homeowners point of view, was to keep the home safe from the environment—heat, cold, and rain—with little or no concern for any other functions; however, V. Kann Rasmussen, from Denmark, saw things differently.

Rasmussen earned a civil engineering degree in 1932 and established the V. Kann Rasmussen & Co. in 1941. One of his desires was "…to develop a roof window which in every respect was as good as the best vertical window." So, in 1942, skylights for homes became a reality when the first Velux roof window was produced and Velux was registered as a trademark.

Over the years the roof window, or skylight, went through numerous transformations. At one time the skylight, if opened, had to be propped up with a pole but new hinges soon made this system obsolete. In the 1960s insulating glass was first used as an energy saving feature; since that time the changes and improvements are almost too many to list.

Today, with energy conservation a hot issue, every skylight manufacturer has to devote much time and energy into the design and development of "energy friendly" products. Insulated glass, double or triple dome skylights, and tempered Low E glass are common. At present it is not unusual to find skylights with gas injected between the glass panes to reduce summer heat gain and winter heat loss. There are two main types of gas used, argon and krypton--argon is cheaper than krypton, but krypton is a better insulator. Both are odorless, colorless, and non-toxic, and both provide increased insulation and energy savings.

If that’s not enough to confuse the average buyer, there are more considerations to take into account: whole-unit U-factor—a measure of the efficiency of insulation, and SHGCs, Solar Heat Gain Coefficients, a measure of how well the heat from the sun is blocked.

Skylights for homes have come a long way since their inception only a few years ago. If you are considering installing a skylight in your home it is easy to become overwhelmed with all the options and choices that are available today. While the initial purpose of allowing more light into the home remains the same, many additional features and functions have found their way into the modern day skylight. Regardless of these options, just remember that it is basically a “roof window” and everything else associated with a skylight is just an “extra”.

In order to learn more about skylights check out our web site, Skylights for Homes. If you are interested in learning about dome skylights we have some in-depth information on the site.