Skylights for screened porch-- what features to include? (And how much do they increase heat?)

[Anonymous]

Planning on skylights for our new screened porch to make sure the room inside doesn't get too dark.

How much do skylights increase the heat in summer? Is it mostly just hotter in the spots where the light comes through the skylights, or is the whole porch hotter? We really want our porch to be noticeably cooler than sitting out in the sunny yard-- we will have a big fan to help, but will skylights make it enough less comfortable that we should consider skipping them and living with the room inside being darker?

How much does it help to have blinds on the skylights that we can close when it's hot and sunny, and/or to be able to open the skylights so the heat can rise up and out? Which of those things is most important, or should we really make sure to do both? (And are after-market blinds okay or should we go with the built in ones?)

Also, if we do operable skylights we are inclined to do the ones that open manually to save money, but is that really annoying and we'll regret not getting the remote control type? Any other skylight features we should consider? We're trying to keep costs down on the project but also don't want to look back and regret pinching pennies on something we really should have splurged on.

Thanks so much for any advice you can share!

[Anonymous]

We got two large skylights in our screened in porch (which is actually more like a 3-season room with the EZ-Breeze windows).

How much do skylights increase the heat in summer? We have found that they don't increase the heat but the direct sunlight can be annoying when it shines directly on you. We always move to areas of the porch where the sun is not hitting us from those skylights. So it can be annoying.

Is it mostly just hotter in the spots where the light comes through the skylights, or is the whole porch hotter? I don't think the whole porch is hotter. It's just that you don't have "shade" when you are being hit by the direct sunlight through the skylights. So it decreases the amount of space on the porch where you can comfortably be.

We really want our porch to be noticeably cooler than sitting out in the sunny yard-- we will have a big fan to help, but will skylights make it enough less comfortable that we should consider skipping them and living with the room inside being darker?
We regret the skylights. Not because it makes it warmer overall but because it's annoying being in direct sunlight. And we think that without the skylights the porch would be just as bright and not dark at all.

They are really pretty and it's kind of cool to look up and see them, but if we had it to do over again we would not have added skylights.

[Anonymous]

Why would you do this? Presumably you will most often use the porch to stay shaded when it’s hot out and there’s plenty of light; or in the summer evenings when it’s dark.

[Anonymous]

Skylights are great because usually, the screen porch will darken the family room is attached. We did this, and it's not hot or anything; if you are worried about it, you can get shades for the skylights but we didn't and its fine, make sure to have ceiling fans

I highly recommend skylights it was a requirement when we did our screen porch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you do this? Presumably you will most often use the porch to stay shaded when it’s hot out and there’s plenty of light; or in the summer evenings when it’s dark.

+1. If you want more light in your house, add skylights to the room in the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skylights are great because usually, the screen porch will darken the family room is attached. We did this, and it's not hot or anything; if you are worried about it, you can get shades for the skylights but we didn't and its fine, make sure to have ceiling fans

I highly recommend skylights it was a requirement when we did our screen porch

I am the same poster who wrote the really long response. This was our thinking, too and it's why we included the skylights. But in hindsight I don't think it makes a difference regarding the light of the adjacent inside room. Plenty of light comes through the three porch sides make that room feel light. And that room has two windows of its own that are not a part of the porch.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately it is not possible for us to put skylights directly into the indoor room. And our screened porch will only have two open sides, not three, so I do worry about it blocking too much light.

PP who regrets the skylights, have you considered/tried blinds for your skylights? Are they not practical to add, or not helpful in blocking the sun when you want shade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Planning on skylights for our new screened porch to make sure the room inside doesn't get too dark.

How much do skylights increase the heat in summer? Is it mostly just hotter in the spots where the light comes through the skylights, or is the whole porch hotter? ...

Thanks so much for any advice you can share!

Hard to respond without knowing what direction these areas face and how bright the room is that will open to the screened porch.
And is the exterior wall gong to be solid with 1 door or mostly glass.

Any room or a screen porch with skylights could get so much light that it's hard to read screens [phone, laptop] or see even the best anti glare flatscreen tvs. Sit outside where the porch would be at various times of day...screen check. I'm thinking about adding a screened porch and would not do skylights for that reason.

[Anonymous]

I would not put sky lights in a screened porch. Build it with lighting, maybe a fan, and heaters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately it is not possible for us to put skylights directly into the indoor room. And our screened porch will only have two open sides, not three, so I do worry about it blocking too much light.

PP who regrets the skylights, have you considered/tried blinds for your skylights? Are they not practical to add, or not helpful in blocking the sun when you want shade?

Skylights are a huge PITA. They will inevitably leak at some point. The angle of the sun will be uncomfortable. And the blinds/covers will break or be a hassle.

They are worth it if the room would otherwise be dark, but I would not include them in a screened porch. The shade of a screened porch is part of the joy!

[Anonymous]

We have them and they keep the indoor space light but they do make the porch hot in summer. We are having blinds made and hope they help. I don’t regret them because my I don’t like a dark house and my interior stays bright

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Planning on skylights for our new screened porch to make sure the room inside doesn't get too dark.

How much do skylights increase the heat in summer?

Not at all. They are designed to reflect light via mirrors or polished metal surfaces, so most all of the radiant IR engergy is emmitted in the attic area and doesn't enter the final skylight refractor/diffusor.

[Anonymous]

I have a skylight on the north side of my house and I love it. I wouldn’t do it on the south side.

[Anonymous]

We skipped them on our relatively new screened in porch because I didn't want to deal with cleaning them, and the accumulation of stuff on them would drive me crazy

[Anonymous]

We have 3 skylights on our porch which is long and narrow (12x22) and spans the width of our great room. I would absolutely do it again - we had the framing of the porch up for a few weeks before they installed the skylights and the interior was noticeably more bright when they were added.

I don't think the skylights really contribute to heat on the porch, in 90+ degree weather your porch will be toasty whether you have skylights or not. We also have 2 ceiling fans, which is a necessity although in the heat of summer they don't really help that much.

I would second the PP's note about having access to clean the skylights - I don't clean them often, but it's great to be able to do it easily if there's bird poop or other debris. We added two other skylights to the interior of the house as part of a renovation and I will literally never be able to reach those! There are services that will clean them but luckily weather has taken care of it so far.