Are light wells better than a skylight?
- Save
- Like
- Comment(1)
- Share
J
Can you provide more information on Sky Wells?
john swanson
June 9, 2022Last updated: May 8, 2022
I read Mike's article, "ARE SKYLIGHTS AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY?" Towards the end he very briefly mentioned "sky wells." I don't understand the difference from skylights and can he provide more information about them. I am in Minnesota.
The Sky Well or Light Well that you saw on our page aboutAre Skylights a Bad Idea? The Pro's & Cons of Velux'sis very different than a skylight and a lot more durable.If you look in that article you will see a roof cutaway rendering image of a light well, which is a sealed reflective tube that brings natural light into homes from the roof but does not have the same durability issues as a skylight.
There is a bit more info in that article about them, but in short – condensation forms very easily on skylights because warm air collects at the higher points of houses. And as they are also usually on an angle, the drops of water run down and cause paint to bubble, also it causes drywall and wood framing to rot. The bottom ‘lens’ of a long hermetically sealed tube of air will not have the same low temperature as the interior pane of a skylight, so there is much less – if any – condensation that will form. We don’t have much more on them unfortunately, but you should be able to find and order them online.