VELUX roof windows are in my opinion one of the best retrofit products in the market place, a lot of really fantastic products are innovative but the cost versus return can make it not viable for a lot of people.
We are all aware of the cost of creating energy, the obvious one is it hitting your back pocket, and the second is the effects it has on the environment.
Not everyone will agree; there are still conspiracy theorists who say the world is still flat. For the rest of us in reality, getting northern light into your home will warm your home up in winter. If you find yourself asking that’s all very well, but what about summer? Then you are not alone; the fantastic thing about VELUX is that they have block out blinds which you can use during the summer months. Then I hear you say, so I can only use my VELUX effectively during winter? Actually, of an evening or late afternoon whilst your home has been heating up all day, one push of a button and the VELUX will open up rapidly cooling down your home because heat rises and the greatest volume of your homes warmest air is at the void/space so releasing this discharges the hot air instantly.
If for example, you had a two storey home, you could open windows at the ground floor and the airflow will organically circulate through the home and up to that void/space and through the VELUX, regardless if there is no air movement outside. The VELUX window even has rain sensors for when you want to open them during winter, being solar powered there is no requirement for an electrician and with flyscreens too, you can place them anywhere in your home including food prep areas.
I see a lot of homes that are poorly designed, some are still beautiful homes. The most common mistake though whilst building a custom built home, is poor location of rooms in relation to the orientation of the property or no placement of windows to the northern aspect. The home is therefore cold and dark during the winter months, even on those stunning sunny days we commonly get in Perth in winter. Coming home from work to a cold dark home is not an enjoyable proposition for anyone. I see a lot of homes that are poorly designed, some are still beautiful homes. The most common mistake though whilst building a custom built home, is poor location of rooms in relation to the orientation of the property or no placement of windows to the northern aspect. The home is therefore cold and dark during the winter months, even on those stunning sunny days we commonly get in Perth in winter. Coming home from work to a cold dark home is not an enjoyable proposition for anyone.
In fact, our North Fremantle office is a stunning old building, has a fantastic Cedar mezzanine floor, but with no windows to the northern aspect, it was terribly cold and dark in winter. I fitted 4 large VELUX windows to the northern aspect and it now passively warms the space up beautifully. I also fitted 4 smaller VELUX to the southern aspect allows an amazing cross-flow ventilation that comes off the Fremantle Harbour, cooling the space nicely and the added bonus is there is enough natural light which, requires no artificial lighting during the day.
Velux Windows Add Value to your Family Home
The main thing that I haven’t touched on is how VELUX transforms a space architecturally; it’s nice to have a comfortable home and be able to change your homes environment without the use of air-conditioning or the like but let’s value add to your property whilst we are in the process.
Let’s get a bigger return on likely the biggest investment you have “your home”.
When we are designing a Custom Built Home, we have a clean slate; we can incorporate into our designs all the necessary requirements to make your home a passive solar design. Some sites are more challenging, the topography or orientation sets the challenge somewhat higher than normal.
In this case, we will add some VELUX roof windows; in a lot of cases, we are just increasing the WOW factor whilst making the home more comfortable. We have also incorporated VELUX window’s into a shower recess because it’s so nice to have the steam immediately leave the building; that said it’s just as nice to have all that natural light and the impression of more space.