Skip to content
Home / Why Skylights / Reasons To Replace Your Skylight

Top 11 REASONS TO REPLACE YOUR SKYLIGHT

Columbia skylights are designed to perform well for decades, longer than the typical lifespan of your roof material. However, there will come a time when it is a good idea to replace your skylights, especially when you are replacing your roof. New skylights offer the advantage of new technology and advanced materials – there have been major improvements in glass, parts, and materials. A new skylight will perform better and save you money on energy costs.

The QuiCk Facts

  • The best time to update your skylights is when you are replacing your roof. While you are replacing worn out shingles, aged and cracked cedar shakes, or a sun-bleached metal roof. Or, when conducting a major renovation or exterior update.
  • ENERGY STAR LogoWith a new skylight, you will benefit from the latest energy efficient skylight technology. Columbia is the industry leader in ENERGY STAR® certified skylights.
  • The small cost of upgrading your skylights or adding new ones (such as venting) is a fraction of the cost of a new roof.
  • Zwave Plus Logo@2xYou can enjoy the convenience of the latest technology – such as, remote control or Z-Wave Smart Home integrated venting skylights.
  • Let’s not forget flat roof skylights or commercial skylights – they sit on a membrane that does not last forever. The same logic applies, when updating your commercial building’s roof, replace your skylights.
  • Consider FAKRO’s state of the art skylights, roof windows, and flat roof skylights. World class innovation featuring the latest glass and curb technology, and SMART HOME integration.

COLUMBIA’S ENERGY STAR SKYLIGHTS

Glass Skylight Sloped Roof

1
Upgrade your skylights when you replace your roof

  • Depending on the type of roofing you have, it will need to be replaced every 15 to 30 years – this is the perfect time to replace your old skylights or add new ones.
  • Changing out your skylights when you replace your roofing is convenient and affordable. You will save money in the long run as the skylights are incorporated into the price of your roof, as opposed to doing it separately.
  • Making the slightly larger investment makes sense – a new roof and new skylights now will cost less than ripping up your new roof to replace old skylights in the future.
New ENERGY STAR Skylight

2
Everything ages, old skylights do need to be replaced

  • It is a good idea to replace a skylight if it is more than 20 years old. Columbia skylights are manufactured to last longer than roofing materials, such as typical shingles and cedar shakes. Skylights can be damaged by hail or falling tree branches, scratching the surface of reducing light transfer. If a glass or acrylic skylight is cracked by a falling object it needs to be replaced as potential water penetration can cause damage to your lightwell and home interior.
  • Poor maintenance can reduce the life of a skylight. Leaf/dirt build up can damage the skylight flashing or seals. Untrimmed tree branches touching the skylight can scratch the lens. Regularly clean your skylights and trim back the trees.
New Skylight Technology

3
Benefit from new technology and materials

  • Technology, parts, and materials are continually improving. New skylights incorporate energy efficient double and triple LoE glazing, have all but eliminated leaking (unless they are damaged or poorly installed), and the frame construction is stronger, watertight, better insulated, and more durable.
  • Double and triple glazing, filled with insulating argon gas, with advanced LoE coatings, have dramatically improved skylight energy efficiency, saving you money on your utility bill.
  • The use of durable exterior extruded aluminum frames and advanced PVC extrusions for interior frames, as well as modern sealant technology, has made today’s skylight resistant to leaking. Today’s PVC does not discolour over time.
  • Upgrade to a modern skylight and it will let bright, clear, beautiful natural light into your home for decades to come.
Upgrade To Venting Skylights

4
Upgrade to venting skylights

  • Skylights are known for letting in natural daylight that brightens your home – nothing compared with a home filled with warm luster of natural light. But today’s venting skylights can also cool your home during the summer with a fresh gentle breeze off fresh air.
  • Venting skylights allow you to refresh your home’s air on a regular basis, without opening windows or doors. Expelling heat, humidity and airborne pollutants (dust and odors) that have been collected in your home, especially on upper floors. Flush out the stale air to revitalize your family – make day to day activity pleasant, and sleeping easier.
  • If you’re going to have to change your skylights, why not go one step further and add in the luxury of fresh air ventilation?

COLUMBIA VENTING SKYLIGHTS
FAKRO VENTING SKYLIGHTS

Remote Controlled Skylight

5
Advanced remote control options available, solar power, & Smart Home integration For Venting Skylights

  • Columbia manufactures high performance venting skylights models – a manual version operated with a crank handle or telescopic pole, or, an electric version with 3 choices of motor and remote control. Featuring a built in rain sensor and thermostat connectivity (see the model for details).
  • FAKRO offers a deck mount solar powered and electric venting skylight with Z-Wave Smart Home integration. A curb mount solar powered venting model. A manual or venting (solar or electric) flat roof skylight.
  • All FAKRO manual venting skylights are operated with a crank handle or telescopic pole. Solar or electric venting skylights for a slope or flat roof are controlled by a remote control (included), wall keyboard (optional), or using Z-Wave Smart Home technology from your smart phone, tablet, or computer.

COLUMBIA VENTING SKYLIGHTS
FAKRO VENTING SKYLIGHTS
FAKRO FLAT ROOF SKYLIGHTS

New Design Venting Skylight

6
Today’s skylights look better – new design and unlimited colours

  • Advances in product design, manufacturing processes, materials, paint and technology have allowed Columbia’s engineers to improve the look of the skylight. Today’s clean lines look great on a modern house or commercial building. Integrating harmoniously with any modern roofing material.
  • Match your skylight to your roof material colour. Columbia offers 7 standard colours and unlimited colour matching. Provide your dealer with a swatch and we can match it.
  • If you are looking for something different and architecturally striking see Columbia’s circular roof dome, which creates a large circular light opening above a pool, kitchen, or atrium.

COLUMBIA FRAME COLOUR OPTIONS
COLUMBIA FLAT ROOF SKYLIGHTS

Save On ENERGY STAR Costs

7
Save on energy costs with ENERGY STAR® certified skylights

  • Columbia is a long time supporter of ENERGY STAR® Canada and USA. We believe in the goals of the organization and use the certification to develop our products.
  • Columbia’s frame and glass technology is designed and tested to meet the stringent current ENERGY STAR Canada standards – Version 5 and United States Version 7. Columbia offers the widest selection of ENERGY STAR skylights in Canada and the USA. As energy costs rise choose an ENERGY STAR certified skylight to reduce your energy consumption.
  • Energy efficient LoE triple glazing is available on all our skylight models, fixed and venting. Over the last decade, there have been amazing advancements in glass technology. Columbia partners with Cardinal Glass, a world leading innovative glass technology leader.

LEARN MORE

Improved Condensation Control

8
Significantly improved condensation control

  • Condensation is an issue in Canadian homes because we keep our homes tightly sealed during the summer and winter against our harsh climate – locking in airborne humidity. We want a comfortable, consistent temperature regardless of the weather outside – when it is hot and humid outside we want to be cool inside and during the winter we want to be warm.
  • Bathing, washing dishes, cooking, and exercising all contribute to humidity in our homes that collects on hard surfaces, like painted walls, windows and skylights, turning from a gas to water droplets on contact.
  • Our product development team has focused on solving this issue and developed the Columbia Condensation Technology system, a wide gutter on all four sides of the skylight inner frame that wicks away any moisture. Other leading manufactures utilize small gaskets that are positioned at the bottom of the skylight.
  • The Columbia condensation gutter system will eliminate stains on your skylight lightwells

LEARN MORE

Built Canadian Tough Skylights

9
Columbia skylights don’t leak – built Canadian tough

  • Columbia utilizes a state of the art manufacturing process, the latest materials, parts, and glass. Every component of a Columbia skylight has been tried and tested – five decades of experience have gone into the development of our skylights.
  • We are a Canadian company. Columbia builds skylights engineered to perform perfectly for decades in the extreme Canadian climate – we are proud that they have been installed on over a million homes across Canada and the USA.
  • The skylights we manufacture will not leak under normal conditions – unless the skylight is damaged or improperly installed. Combined with our decades of know how – modern manufacturing practices, superior glass and materials are just too good.
  • All models are backed by one of the best warranties in the industry.

LEARN MORE

Natural Light Skylights

10
You’ve been living in a dark home for too long

  • It is common knowledge that natural sunlight entering the home is uplifting and creates a positive environment to live and work in. A dark home can adversely effect your mood and make it oppressive and uninviting. Artificial light is great, but nothing compares with the quality of clear, bright, natural daylight. The top down natural light of a skylight has a beauty and warmth that is unmatched even by regular wall mounted windows.
  • Natural light shows off your interior design at its best, makes cooking a joy, exercise a pleasure, and it reduces eye strain for kids when they are finishing their homework. In addition, you have the sense of connection with the outside, looking up at the sky, the trees, or the moon and stars.
  • Installing a skylight will transform your home. You’ll never regret bringing more natural light into your home.
  • Increase the resale value of your home, a home filled with natural light is more desirable when you come to sell. People love natural light.

LEARN MORE

Neat New Glass Technology

11
New glass technology, such as Argon gas, LoE coating, and Low Maintenance Neat glass

  • Columbia is proud to partner with Cardinal Glass. Cardinal has introduced many of the latest advancements in glass technology and manufacturing – a world leader in glass innovation.
  • Our double and triple glass units are filled with insulating argon gas and are triple coated with LoE, more than any other manufacturer. LoE is a thin, invisible metallic coating that allows the natural light to pass through the glass while absorbing a significant amount of short-wave heat energy – reducing heat gain.
  • Cardinal’s Neat coating resists dirt and grime build up, it breaks down organic material that collects on the glass. NEAT keeps your skylight glass cleaner longer and makes it far easier to clean – most of the time a quick hose down is enough.
  • FAKRO skylights use energy efficient glass LoE technology from Europe, including the revolutionary U8 quadruple glazing on the FTT Centre Pivot Thermal Roof Window, or the incredibly strong glazing unit used in the DXW Flat Walkable Skylight.

LEARN MORE – COLUMBIA’S GLASS OPTIONS
LEARN MORE – FAKRO’S GLASS OPTIONS