What Is Daylighting?

Daylighting is a design objective that uses strategically placed window, skylights, doorways/openings, and reflective wall coverings or surfaces to naturally bring daylight into an interior space. Daylighting can include adding new windows to a structure or increasing the size of the existing windows, and it is a popular practice for homes, schools, offices, and commercial buildings.

Benefits of Daylighting

Daylighting has both aesthetic and financial benefits for homeowners and business owners. Traditional goals of daylighting homes or commercial properties have included:

  • Bringing in sufficient natural light to negate the use of artificial light during the day; an energy and cost-efficient benefit.
  • Increasing solar heat intake during colder seasons or in colder climates to help heat interior spaces and decrease the need for alternative heat sources, thus saving money in heating costs.
  • Maximizing the curb appeal of a home or commercial building and aggrandizing the interior visual space of said building.

While daylight has always had its place in home design, the recent introduction of the novel coronavirus has homeowners reconsidering the beneficial aspects of daylighting. In addition to bringing in more natural light, daylighting can also help increase a home’s natural ventilation and air circulation. Properly placed windows can create cross breezes that help circulate air better throughout interior spaces, improving ventilation and helping to cool the space as well (another cost-savings boon in the summers months, as it reduces the need for artificial cooling).

Daylighting: All-In or Step by Step?

When it comes to daylighting a house or commercial property, owners can jump in with both feet, tearing down walls and putting up windows in all the optimal places in one large construction push. With this method, the work may seem intensive, but the benefits are immediate. Alternatively, owners can daylight their property stepbystep by starting with smaller constructions projects and noninvasive daylighting techniques.

For example, if you’re not ready to tear down walls to daylight, consider instead upgrading or enlarging existing windows. Gilkey Windows & Exterior Solutions carries multiple lines of high-quality windows if you’re considering this option, as well as the expert staff to help you design and install them. Contact us today to discuss both:

There are even noninvasive ways to daylight your home. The calculated use of mirrors and light-reflecting colors on interior walls and surfaces can help radiate natural light throughout the space, and thus are a great first step for owners as they start daylighting their property.

Conclusion

So, if you’re ready to use daylighting in your home or office to improve the overall energy efficiency, save money, and add visual appeal both inside and out, then contact Gilkey Windows & Exterior Solutions today. We can help you decide what the best window options are for your home or office needs and walk you through the entire process from design to installation. Located near Lexington, Kentucky, Gilkey Windows & Exterior Solutions serves all of Central Kentucky.