What are the benefits of lantern roof lights?

You may have seen an influx of lantern roof lights popping up on your Instagram feed in the homes of your favourite renovation accounts. Or even visited a friend post-lockdown and noticed the floods of natural light entering their new kitchen from above. But why the sudden increase in demand?

Homeowners up and down the country are turning to lantern roof lights to illuminate their living spaces and with good reason. Their benefits extend further than simply a brilliant source of natural light. They have the added benefit of delivering ventilation over the summer, energy savings over the winter, a huge aesthetic value, and perhaps most importantly, their positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the occupants.

What are Lantern roof lights?

First and foremost, lantern roof lights are windows set into a flat roof. But how a roof lantern differs from a skylight is down to its architectural brilliance. From outside, a lantern roof light adds a glowing glazed structure to a flat roof, possessing an almost magical quality. Internally the pitch of the lantern extends the ceiling height increasing the perception of the size of your room.

Historically, lantern roof lights have been associated with orangeries and conservatories. Installed as a way of maximising the sunlight that enters the building. It was here that they found their place firmly amongst glazed buildings and extensions for centuries. Over recent years they have undoubtedly undergone vast improvements and are not only used in glazed extensions but also above staircases, kitchens, living rooms and just about anywhere there may be a flat roof.

The benefits to lantern roof lights

Aside from just enjoying the beautiful appearance of a lantern roof light and stunning views of the sky above from within your home, you may be wondering what other benefits come with investing in one? Some of the most notable benefits owners can experience are:

Increased natural light

Beginning with the most obvious, there is an increase in the natural light that fills your home. This is important for not only functional purposes, illuminating the room throughout the day, but studies have shown that natural light has a number of significant health benefits. Having a positive contribution to our overall mood and ability to focus.

Energy savings

Adding natural light to space via a lantern roof light will not only reduce the need for you to rely on artificial lighting, but in addition, the energy-efficient glazing will increase your home’s thermal efficiency. Westbury Roof Lanterns, for example, use toughened, argon filled, 4-16-4 units with warm edge spacer bars as standard. This means that each toughened pane experiences minimal heat loss throughout the winter and each edge of the sealed glazed units are kept apart to prevent cold bridging – a cold bridge is a gap between two insulated parts. This gap is colder than the surrounding areas and can cause a build-up of condensation. Leading to heat loss, mould growth and deterioration on the building. With a Westbury roof lantern your home is able to retain heat through even the coldest months of the year.

Increased property value

For the aforementioned reasons, prospective buyers will be delighted once they see that your home have a roof lantern. Increasing the saleability of your home. Natural light, inexpensive bills and a calming atmosphere are all desirable qualities when it comes to buying a new home. In addition, the contemporary architectural element can set your home apart from others on the market and contribute to being the deciding factor when making an offer.

How much does a roof lantern cost?

Now that you have an understanding of what a lantern roof light is and all the benefits to owning one, you may be wondering how much a roof lantern can cost? The short answer is that prices will vary a great deal, depending on the materials used and the supplier. This is for several reasons, UPVC lanterns are inherently cheaper as the material cost is relatively low, however, the lifespan of a UPVC lantern is also significantly lower. Therefore over time, there is an argument that the cost could exceed alternatives on the market.

Comparatively, Westbury uses a combination of FSC certified timber, aluminium cappings and custom-made resin. By breaking the lantern down into parts we have been able to design every aspect of the finished product to the smallest details and source the best materials for the job. Over the 35 years we have been constructing lanterns we have tried and tested every part individually, and collectively as a whole, making any improvements as we go. Our unique approach means that we do not rely on sub-par materials at any stage of our manufacturing process and we do not simply accept parts that can be made within our timber workshop, but rather we focus on producing exceptional joinery and sourcing custom-made superior parts to complement the finished product. Allowing us to sell the most consistently reliable and high performing roof lanterns out there.

How can you purchase a Westbury roof lantern?

We aim to provide our clients with premium, market-leading products that last. We will always build to a standard and not to a budget to ensure that you can trust the glazed roof over your head. If you’d like to know more about how we may help, we are happy to provide a no-obligation quotation and offer any advice you may have on your project.

You can contact a member of our team by calling 01245 326510.

If you’re interested in learning more about lantern roof lights, take a look at some of our other posts below: