Hiring Contractors For Home Improvements
Two Steps To Choose The Perfect Skylight Location For Your Kitchen
Tim Graham
A dark and dreary kitchen does not inspire time spent in this room creating culinary masterpieces. Rather than adding more electric lighting fixtures to your kitchen, you should get excited at the idea of having skylight windows installed instead. Skylights allow in natural light to your kitchen from sunrise to sunset. But the position of the skylight is critical to its success. You may have an idea in your mind where you want the skylight to go, but there are two critical factors which could impact your installation plans.
Afternoon sun
In Australia, you are advised not to be out in the sun between noon and 3 pm as this is when it is at its most harsh. Because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you don't want a skylight which is on the western side of your home. If you do, then it will channel the hottest sun of the day into the kitchen. Since this heat takes time to disappear, you are going to be paying extra energy costs to cool the room while you prepare food in the evening.
If you have a large enough roof, ask if it is feasible to locate the skylight in the eastern section above the kitchen. By taking this action, you will receive light all day without the heat.
Impact on furniture
The sun's ultraviolet rays damage furniture they come in contact with. Kitchen cupboards lose colour after months of daily contact with the sun. As this reduces the value of your home in the long term, you need to consider how to lower the impact of this extra natural light.
One way to achieve this is to have protective tinting film applied to the glass in the skylight. The film reduces the amount of UV rays which get into your home without limiting the amount of light.
The second answer involves fitting blinds to the skylight before installation. Skylight blinds open and close by remote control, so there are no step-ladder safety concerns. Additionally, on super hot days, you may choose to close the blinds between noon and 3 pm, so the hot heat stays out of the room. This heat block practice reduces the amount of energy needed to keep the kitchen cool.
Talk to your local skylight installer about further ideas they have regarding the ideal location of a skylight above your kitchen.
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Hello! My name is Richard and this is my new blog. On this blog, I hope to pass on some useful information about how to work with contractors. I recently decided that I wanted to give my property a complete overhaul. I wanted to have a new roof installed, the interior remodelled and the driveway repaired. I asked around and I put together a great team of contractors who could all work together to get the job done. However, that isn't to say there wasn't the occasion challenge during such a big project. I learnt a lot from the experience and I am really pleased with the work that the contractors carried out.