Skylight Heat Mitigation?
Does anyone have a good technique for mitigating heat from sunlight coming through a skylight over the stairway in a brownstone? The light is great through the winter but the heat during summer days is unbearable upstairs because of it. Suggestions? Interior sunshade? Tinting applied to outside of glass? Thanks.
Does anyone have a good technique for mitigating heat from sunlight coming through a skylight over the stairway in a brownstone? The light is great through the winter but the heat during summer days is unbearable upstairs because of it. Suggestions? Interior sunshade? Tinting applied to outside of glass? Thanks.
Many thanks all. Very helpful!
i’d bet most of your heat is not from the skylight, but rather from the roof as a whole. Once the roof heats up, the heat is transferred thru the top of the building. Insulating the roof would help greatly.
thx, eric
handymaneric.com
If this is a hallway skylight then I think the heat you’re feeling is from a lack of insulation to roof, rather than heat transferred through skylight. Throw a (temporary) tarp over the skylight and see whether that creates any relief.
If not, or if minimal, look elsewhere for solution. Most of these buildings will generate significant upward draft if you open the door under the stoop and find a way to vent air at the roof/skylight level.
The simplest solution is shade cloth http://www.igcusa.com/greenhouse-shade-cloth.html Also if one side of your skylight faces south you could shade that side almost completely and the north side less if you need the light.
The most effective way to reduce the summer heat gain is to shade the glass from the exterior. It might be practical and fun to build a temporary exterior shade that can be removed during colder months, if you don’t mind climbing up there. Picture a sort of south-facing sail that arches over the skylight.
Films will help some, but will not entirely solve your problem.
Film is excellent and blocks a lot of the infared rays. It doesn’t look dark but is, frankly, a necessity for most skylights.
You can have a professional apply the film if it’s a difficult place to reach.
Does film block much heat? And it might be tricky to apply up there.
Plexi panel on the edge below, sealed with silicone caulk will definitely help.
UV blocking film, simple and pretty much every hardware store should have some.