The MANY Benefits Of Natural Light
You spend most of your day indoors, your home is your haven. Skylights improve the livability of your home – with an increased amount of natural light your home will be more comfortable and healthy. A light filled home feels more spacious and luxurious.
- Natural light reduces anxiety, boosts the immune system and produces serotonin, a chemical in our brain that makes us happier, well rested and alert.
- Natural light makes your home more beautiful. It has a quality that cannot be replicated by artificial light. It provides a warmth, brightness, and luster that enhances your interior design. Giving a vibrancy to colours, textures, material, furniture, and artwork.
MUCH MORE THAN JUST A WINDOW
- Skylights can dramatically transform your home. They’re the best way to add natural light, fresh air, and a feeling of spaciousness. Because the light comes from above, it creates a beautiful soft evenness to the light, making your interior and inhabitants look radiant.
- Skylights are a natural compliment to your current window system and the perfect solution for interior rooms that lack natural light, or large rooms that are only partially lit by your windows.
- Many homes are built on lots with minimal space separating the neighbouring properties, restricting the supply of natural light. Skylights can remedy this situation because the light is coming from above, not the side.
- A home awash with bright natural light is perceived to be more valuable when you come to sell. Potential buyers love natural light.
- Studies show that there are positive health benefits to adding more daylight and fresh air to your indoor living environment. People are less susceptible to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) when they are exposed to natural light.
- Natural light saves you energy on your electric bill. Used in combination with electric light, skylights offer the perfect solution your home lighting needs.
- Venting skylights are a very popular option because, in combination with natural light, they provide fresh air ventilation in rooms where improved air circulation may be required, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and sunrooms. Choose from a manually opening skylight (with a crank handle or telescopic pole), or electric or solar powered version.
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YOUR HOME WILL LOOK BETTER WITH NATURAL LIGHT
- The beauty and quality of natural light cannot be duplicated by artificial lighting. When we enter a well lit room flooded with sunlight our mood changes and our heart lifts – we feel happier and more alive.
- Our interior design, furniture, flooring, wall colours and artwork come alive, displayed in their true splendour. We notice when natural light dances across the walls and floor of our home, we love to see sunlight. It allows us the see the transition of the day, as the light changes. We know it instinctively because it makes us feel better. Even at night, you benefit from enjoying a view of the night sky, the captivating beauty of the moon and stars.
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natural light IS ESSENTIAL TO Sustainable building practices
- Today’s energy efficient skylights are part of sustainable building practices – reducing energy costs and provide natural light that improves interior liability and comfort. Sustainable home design focuses as much on the health of inhabitants as it does on the health of the planet, and this includes maximizing natural lighting.
- Natural light reduces the dependence on electricity while providing improved comfort, and physical and mental health.
Columbia collaborated with the University of British Columbia’s Third Quadrant Design on the construction of an innovative passive building, intended to advance construction technology, and the use of natural light.
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NATURAL LIGHTING SAVES ENERGY & MONEY
- Skylights can reduce energy costs because they can warm up a space with solar heat gain in the winter or brighten a space without using electricity. Work with your architect or contractor to maximize the effectiveness of light distribution, using natural light skylights and sun tubes to eliminate dark zones in your home.
- Columbia is a long term participant and supporter of the ENERGY STAR® programs and its mission to provide Canadian consumers with the most energy efficient skylights on the market. Columbia offers more ENERGY STAR certified skylight models than any other Canadian or US manufacturer.
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NATURAL LIGHTING CAN INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME
- Abundant daylight flooding into your home increases its selling value in the eyes of potential buyers. A study conducted by Building Technology Innovations discovered that increased natural light makes a space look bigger and more open, resulting in people’s willingness to pay more. Just ask your realtor, would they prefer to sell a well lit home or a poorly lit one?
- If you have completed renovations or styled your home to increase its value – show it off with the daylight from a skylight.
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Natural light improves mental alertness & dexterity
- Exposure to natural light has been shown to increase concentration and focus. It has been proven that working or studying under a skylight will boost alertness. Access to natural light is especially important if you work from home – it will help increase focus, and conceptual aptitude, while reducing anxiety and depression. You will be more productive in a naturally lit area than in an artificially lit work environment.
- Sufficient natural light during the day helps you sleep better at night, as the body uses natural light to understand the time of day, so that you are well rested and alert for the next work or school day.
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NATURAL LIGHTING REDUCES STRESS & ANXIETY
- Anxiety is a common mental health issue caused by our complex, fast paced modern lives. Natural daylight will help to lift your mood. FAKRO’s Top opening, tilt and turn, or balcony roof window skylights allow you to directly access sunlight, increasing you Vitamin D production. Columbia’s RAS Roof Access Door allows you to turn an unused roof deck into a sunny oasis.
- ”If people are exposed to light in the morning that mimics the wavelengths of daylight, they become better at coping with anxiety provoking experiences. The light simply improves the communication between the regions of the brain that are central to our handling of emotions such as stress and anxiety,” says PhD fellow Brenda McMahon, MD, of the Neurobiology Research Unit at the Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.
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NATURAL LIGHTING BENEFITS VISION
- Natural light is better for our eyes, reducing eye strain. According to North Carolina State University, Computer screens, smart phones and fluorescent light can cause eye strain that can lead to permanent eye damage.
- Natural light has been shown to lower the risk of nearsightedness in children and young adults by helping the eye produce dopamine, which aids in healthy eye development.
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NATURAL LIGHTING CAN HELP MAKE YOU SMARTER
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District conducted a study that concluded that people performed 10 to 25% better on tests of mental function and memory recall when they worked in a room with daylight and an outdoor view, compared to those without.
- In a study conducted by the California Energy Commission, students with the most daylighting in their classrooms progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests in one year than those with the least.
- A skylight bringing in more natural light will make a great addition to a children’s play room.
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MORE ENERGY DURING THE DAY & SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT
- Getting sufficient natural light during the day will help you sleep better at night. Exposure to natural light allows your body to correctly set its internal clock – giving you a better night’s sleep and more energy during the day.
- Get a better sleep and enjoy the view of the night sky.
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Natural light PREVENTS mould Build Up in Your Home
- Dangerous mould thrives in a poorly lit and badly ventilated areas of your home prone to humidity and dampness.
- Mould is a form of fungus – it produces spores, which spread by becoming airborne. Mould spores are present in all indoor environments, and can trigger allergies, and breathing problems and cause serious health issues such as Aspergillus.
- By exposing your home to adequate sunlight you help prevent the spores from taking hold. A light filled home has less of a chance of developing a mould problem.
- A venting skylight can supply natural light and flush out your home with fresh air.
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NATURAL LIGHT IS BETTER FOR INDOOR PLANTS
- Indoor house plants have numerous benefits – from detoxifying indoor air to boosting our mood.
- Through the process of photosynthesis green indoor plants use sunlight (even under a skylight) to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and water, lowering the CO2 level in your home.
- A row of skylights in a sunroom creates the perfect place for indoor plants to thrive, and receive the additional benefit of significantly reduced harmful UV rays.
ATTENTION EMPLOYERS
Your workforce will be more productive with natural light
- Natural light in the workplace affects a number of health issues, like mood, sleep, and eye health—and it heightens employee productivity.
- There are numerous studies and articles highlighting that access to natural light is one of the most important indicators of employee happiness. It is clear, that a naturally lit work environment means higher productivity and profit.
- Forbes recently published the article, ‘New Study: Air Quality And Natural Light Have The Biggest Impact On Employee Well-Being’, highlighting the impact of natural light on the well being and productivity of a workforce.
- A quote from the article, “Access to natural light, daylight and outdoor views all outranked an on site gym and a pet friendly workplace policy as an existing emotional wellness strategy in the workplace.”