VELUX Skylights Make a Fresh and Healthy Home

Watch to see how architect Jeff Day used eight VELUX No Leak Solar Powered "Fresh Air" Skylights to refresh the air inside a southern Illinois home, where two asthma and allergy sufferers live. Built by Oasis Home Construction, the skylights were positioned to maximize the chimney effect: when warm, stale air escapes through open skylights and cool, fresh air is drawn in through lower level windows. In addition to freshening the air inside, the skylights provide ample daylight from above to create a cheerful atmosphere. 

Here's How Often You Should Ventilate Your Bathroom

Original Post by Kat Wiseman for VELUX USA Blog

        It's no secret that bathrooms can get steamy. Where there's steam, there's generally going to be condensation. And where there's condensation, there can eventually be mold and mildew, which is why it's so important to keep the bathroom properly ventilated.

Avoiding Condensation

        Realistically, you should ventilate your bathroom any time steam creates excess moisture in the air. You'll be able to tell it's doing this from the feeling of humidity and condensation on your mirror and other bathroom surfaces. This excess moisture can affect everything from the structural integrity of your bathroom to your family's health. 

        Sometimes, however, getting rid of condensation isn't as simple as flipping a switch to turn on the fan. In some instances, like if you're renting or have a restricted budget, ventilation options can be downright limited. So, read on for a few ways you can eliminate condensation in your bathroom. 

How to Ventilate Your Bathroom

1. Open the window - or skylight! - while bathing or showering. Open windows allow moist air to escape and fresh air to enter. This helps reduce mold or mildew growth. 
2. In a windowless bathroom, leave the door open during and after bathing. If your home has relatively low humidity (below 50%), the air that escapes your bathroom can help increase the overall humidity. If your home is overly humid, remove the excess moisture by opening a window in the room nearest the bathroom. 
3. Use a dehumidifier! Dehumidifiers draw moisture from the air, but many are electric so use them with caution when running water in your bathroom. 

More Ventilation Tips

• Mold thrives in dark spaces. So if you have a window in your bathroom, leave the blinds or curtains open when you're not using it to restrict the growth of mold. 
• You can track the humidity level in your home with a handy-dandy hygrometer, which can be found in most home and garden stores. 
• If you're renovating your bathroom or building a whole new one, it's required in many areas to install a properly sized ventilation system. Check with local authorities and building retailers for an exhaust fan with the right amount of output for the size of your bathroom. 

Skip the Winter Doldrums

It’s happened. We all set our clocks back an hour this past Sunday and now we find ourselves facing the dwindling daylight hours. As the days grow shorter and the sun moves lower in the sky, you may find the light inside your home growing dimmer even during the day.

Lack of sunlight is the number one contributor to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and so you’re most likely to experience it in the winter. Adding more artificial lighting will help ease eyestrain, but it will not lift your mood.

Installing VELUX Sun Tunnel Skylights now, before you become lost in the doldrums of winter, will both increase the natural light in your home and lift your mood.

Skip the winter doldrums and get your sunlight before it’s gone!

Read more about VELUX Sun Tunnel Skylights.

Ready for an estimate? Fill out this online form or give our office a call: 707-527-5330

Part Four: Four Reasons You Need More Natural Light

Last week, in part three, we looked at how having more natural light can Reduce Eyestrain and Headaches. If you missed it, you can read it here.

This week we will look at how having more natural light can make A Happier You.

Studies have shown that employees and students in buildings full of natural light are happier, healthier, and more productive than those who are working under electric or fluorescent lighting.

Ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? During the winter, people don't receive as much Vitamin D from the sunlight and can suffer the consequences, such as depression. A similar problem can occur year round if you spend a lot of time under artificial lighting rather than natural sunlight.

Having enough Vitamin D is an important way a person can stay in a good mood. And this vitamin has numerous other benefits as well, including immune system regulation, body weight maintenance, asthma symptom control, and helping the brain to continue working efficiently into later life. The best way to increase your body's Vitamin D generation is exposure to natural light.

While no home is the same, you have a plethora of different choices for adding natural light to yours. Skylights are a perfect solution for improving the brightness in any room in your home. Small skylights or tube skylights can even fit into small spaces where you wish you had more light, including bathrooms, stairways, hallways, closets and laundry rooms. Venting skylights can lower temperatures and improve the air circulation in your home. New, high quality skylights are much more energy efficient than skylights from even ten years ago.

             

 

If your house is dimly lit, it may be time to add natural lighting. Naturalight Solar offers a large selection of skylights to help you live a healthier, brighter life. With our experts here to help you, you can find the right skylight and have it installed in a matter of days.

You can receive a complimentary budget estimate to enhance your home or office 

if you call 707-527-5330 or click here. 

Part Three: Four Reasons You Need More Natural Light

Last week, in part two, we talked about needing more natural light during the day in order to have a Better Sleep Cycle. If you missed last week's post, you can read it here.

This week we will look at how having more natural light in your life may Lessen Eyestrain and Headaches.

Do you work all day in a space that has little to no sun exposure, instead relying on artificial lighting? Do your eyes blur when you glance from your monitor to another object? Fluorescent lighting and glare caused by contrasting amounts of light and reflections in the environment can cause strain on your eyes that might even cause headaches or migraines.

Adding natural lighting to your home or office may help stop you from squinting at a computer screen or television. The natural lighting is better for your eyes and evenly distributed ambient light can help reduce glare. VELUX SUN TUNNEL Skylights are an excellent option for office spaces, as the built-in ceiling diffuser helps distribute the natural light evenly through the space, perfect for eliminating glare.

If you don't have a way to add more natural light in your work environment, try taking regular breaks from the computer, letting your eyes adjust focus by looking at objects both closer and further away and stepping out into the sunlight for a few minutes several times throughout the day.

Check back next week for the final post in this series.

Part Two: Four Reasons You Need More Natural Light

In last week's post we talked about using natural light to be more energy efficient. If you missed it, you can read it here.

This week we are looking at reason two for needing more natural light: Better Sleep Cycle.

Have you ever experienced trouble falling asleep at night? Or staying awake at school or work during the post-lunch hours? Though it may seem counter-intuitive at first, these feelings of sleeplessness and sleepiness can be caused by the same thing: the type of lighting you are exposed to during the day. For a lot of us, this lighting is electric rather than natural sunlight, and with time, it can have a huge effect on our bodies.

All light, whether it is electric or natural, has what is called a Kelvin color temperature. Most standard electrical lighting is at 3,500 Kelvin, and remains at this level continuously. However, sunlight can reach levels up to 10,000 Kelvin, and changes throughout the day. These changes that occur in natural light throughout the day and night (moonlight has color temperature, too) are what assist our body's in regulating our circadian rhythms so that we have energy during the day and feel relaxed and ready for sleep in the evening.

Spending so much time inside, under unnatural lighting, upsets these natural rhythms, resulting in both sleeplessness and sleepiness. If you feel like your circadian rhythms are out of sync, consider how much time you spend under unnatural lighting and in front of computer and tv screens during the day. Your body might need help getting back in sync by being exposed to more natural light during the morning and afternoon. Try taking your lunch break outside in the sunshine, adding a skylight to your home or office, or turning off the tv earlier in the evening and going for a walk outside.

Check back next week for more benefits of natural light in Part Three.