June 2020

Daylighting: Roof Windows
LET THERE BE LIGHT: THE ROOF
WINDOW OPTIONS AVAILABLE
Grant Sneddon, Product Manager at roof window manufacturer VELUX, shares his thoughts
on how installers can help homeowners maximise space in their home, while incorporating
the latest smart home technology.
Over April and May, Britain’s time spent at
home rose by an average of 20-25%,
which isn’t surprising when 87% of the
UK population claimed to have followed the
Government’s lockdown guidance either
completely or nearly all the time.
A report by the Office of National Statistics
showed how this has made people think
differently about the places in which they live, as
it confirmed a substantial increase in the time
spent gardening and doing DIY during lockdown –
up by 147% to 39 minutes per day.
Consumers have reportedly been investing an
increased proportion of their income on home
improvements. For those countries further ahead
on the journey out of lockdown, including China,
numbers of people moving home are starting to
surge, which means opportunity is on the horizon
for many businesses working within the
construction and home improvement sector.
How to create more space in your
customer’s project: The simplest way to help
create the illusion of space in a project is to
ensure that there’s a good supply of natural
daylight coming in. If your customers are
considering a new extension or loft conversion,
we recommend that glazing represents 15-20%
of available floor space to ensure that the
finished room feels bright and airy.
Many homeowners look to achieve extra space by
adding a single storey extension to their property
and while patio or bi-fold doors open up a space
to the garden, they won’t give homeowners the
amount of daylight they need to fill an entire
room. However, adding roof windows will allow
daylight to penetrate further into the space,
adding twice as much daylight as vertical
windows of the same size.
Before making a start on a project, homeowners
should make sure they have considered where
natural light is coming from and the number and
size of roof windows needed to ensure the entire
space is adequately lit.
There are some really useful tools on the VELUX
website which will help homeowners see the
difference that two, three and four roof windows
will make to an extension or loft conversion. It
can also demonstrate how dark a new room
might look without any roof windows.
How to improve your customer’s indoor
environment: VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO
uses smart-sensor technology which lets
homeowners manage roof windows with their
smartphone. The smart sensors monitor
temperature, humidity and CO ²
concentration
inside the home, and the system opens and
closes roof windows to improve indoor climate.
And to make life easier for installers once normal
life resumes, VELUX recently launched its first
window to boast three sashes in one frame.
VELUX STUDIO features two centre-pivot roof
windows on either side of a fixed unit, which
saves installation time and makes installing
multiple windows a whole lot easier. What’s
more, it can be used alongside a solar conversion
kit so homeowners can operate their STUDIO unit
remotely using VELUX INTEGRA technology – well
suited for customers who are looking to create
healthier indoor environments for themselves and
their families when they spend time at home.
How to control heat during the summer
months: Extra daylight will naturally bring extra
heat into people’s homes along with it –
especially in the summer months – and the
easiest way you can help homeowners keep this
under control is by installing VELUX blinds for roof
windows.
VELUX has an extensive range of blinds and
outdoor shutters which are a 100% perfect fit for
all of our roof windows and they are available to
buy direct from our website. From roller and
pleated to Venetian and total blackout, there’s a
blind for every customer’s needs and a variety of
colours to suit their individual tastes.
VELUX blinds and shutters are also compatible
with VELUX ACTIVE, so keeping the heat in or out
has never been easier for customers to automate.
Contact Velux
01592 778225
www.velux.co.uk
@VELUXGBI
36 TC JUNE 2020