Sunlight. It’s something we see every day, even without intention. It’s such a common thing that we hardly give it notice some days besides throwing on a pair of sunglasses when venturing out into its direct rays. But natural sunlight can be a potent tool in home design. It can help you reduce your carbon footprint and monthly electricity bills while at the same time improving the comfort level of your home and its interior and exterior aesthetics. Daylighting and the upgrading of windows in your home can make a significant difference to the efficiency and looks, and homeowners often underappreciate what the intelligent use of natural lighting and solar heat at home can mean.
- Using Sunlight for Natural Lighting: When you bring more natural light into your home through strategically placed windows and skylights, it will reduce the amount of artificial light needed during the day. This will help lower your utility bills because less electricity is required for lighting purposes! It is so simple yet so effective when it comes to reducing your home’s carbon footprint on a daily basis.
- Using Sunlight for Passive Heating: Daylighting is a natural way to reduce energy costs long term by creating increased opportunities for natural sunlight to enter your home and bring free solar heat. Without having to put in any electricity or effort, sunlight warms your home for you, which is especially appreciated in colder months.
- Using Sunlight for Aesthetic Upgrades: There’s no denying the aesthetic appeal of windows. By creating a portal to the outside world, windows allow sunlight to enter, giving interior spaces a more open and expansive feel. Natural lighting creates a more welcoming atmosphere at home than harsh artificial bulbs, and free, welcoming natural illumination is also easier for your eyes.
Modern Daylighting
Daylighting aims to maximize the amount of natural light in your home while minimizing energy costs and simultaneously creating a pleasant atmosphere. It might seem like a tall order, but the smart use of sunlight affords just such a range of beneficial features. Using strategically placed windows, skylights, doorways, and reflective wall coverings, more natural sunlight can be brought into the home for use by homeowners for either its free illumination or solar heat.
At the heart of modern daylighting are your home’s windows. Since windows are the conduit for most of the sunlight entering your abode, they must be working and in good condition to get the most of each solar benefit. If it’s time to upgrade your old or single-pane windows, opt for insulated models to enhance the heating benefit of daylighting by helping to keep the heat in and the cold out. Also, consider upgrading to larger window sizes if it’s time for a replacement as yet another way to increase the amount of natural sunlight coming into your home. Our favorite new windows models include our Gilkey Vinyl Windows and Infinity by Marvin Fiberglass Windows.
Contact Us
Learn more about daylighting and the benefits of natural lighting and solar heat by contacting the team at Gilkey Windows & Exterior Solutions. Request a consultation to discuss new or replacement windows for your home and other energy-saving steps involved with daylighting. Gilkey Windows & Exterior Solutions is located near Lexington, KY, and serves the greater Lexington area in central Kentucky.
