Fresh Air Skylight is Solar Powered Brilliance

While I have never lived in a house that has skylights, I have always wanted to, and I’ve always been jealous of my friend who have one or more of them. One of the things they complain about, though, is that they either cannot open and close them at all, or it requires a ladder and often gymnastics to do so. Which means that while light is being let into an area where there normally wouldn’t be any, the hot air that rises to the ceiling cannot be let out of the room easily (and more importantly, the skylight cannot be closed quickly in the event of an unexpected rainstorm).

Enter the Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylight by Velux. The skylight itself is available in a variety of sizes and glazing options, and can be opened and closed using a remote. Best part? No wiring required: it’s powered by the sun. There is a solar panel mounted right to the skylight which charges an integrated battery. The battery powers a motor, which is controlled with a remote. You can either open and close the skylight manually at will, or you can use the remote to schedule an open and close schedule.

My first thought on scheduling was about rain. If you’ve got your skylight scheduled to open during the heat of the day while you’re at work, what do you do if it starts raining? You don’t want to come home to a huge mess after all, and it’s not an option for most people to leave work so they can run home and close their skylight. Never fear! There is a sensor next to the solar panel which will register raindrops and automatically close the skylight as needed. If you would like to shield your rooms from the sun as well as vent hot air from your house, there is an option for factory-installed blinds in the skylights (these can also be controlled with the remote).

All this fabulousness does not come cheaply, however. A single skylight ranges from about $1,000 to about $2,000 US depending on style and options. I still want one.

Source: Gizmag