Skylights are a great way to bring natural light into a home. It’s not unusual to find skylights in bath areas and kitchens. While the light is a pleasant addition, the heat gain is not so pleasant.

Some companies market a shade product that attaches inside the skylight opening. While these are helpful, they are not the most efficient way to deal with heat gain issues. If you think about it, a shade mounted inside the glass stops the light and energy only AFTER it has penetrated the glass. Sort of like putting a bucket under a leak trying to “fix” the roof!

In fairness, all interior shades reduce the heat somewhat. Traditional shade cloth and solar screens block up to 90% of the sun and light. But remember, it does so only after they are inside your home. A more efficient interior screen is “silver screen”. Silver screen fabric is a solar screen that is actually coated with silver on the outward facing side of the fabric. This type of fabric will reflect double the heat of a typical solar fabric. It will also greatly increase the cost for an interior screen.

A simple, low cost solution is to install a solar screen on the outside of your skylight. Just like a solar screen on your windows and door, a skylight solar screen will block the sun and heat BEFORE they penetrate your home.

I can tell you from personal experience that skylight solar screens work. We have a brand new skylight installed our bathroom. While we really enjoyed the natural light, the heat gain made the room extremely warm. In fact, it heated up that whole part of the house. Once I installed a skylight solar screen (see picture below) the temperature dropped by about 20 degrees or more! We still get natural light, and our air conditioner doesn’t run non-stop anymore.

Installation was simple, and it’s easy to remove if we want during the frigid winter months. If you don’t want to venture up on your roof, have it professionally installed for a nominal fee. You’ll find it is well worth the investment.