Installing Warehouse Skylights

Let us say you have a large warehouse-type building that you use as a factory or even a store with stocked merchandise. You realize that you could cut overhead costs by providing daylighting and you could increase your bottom line by not just reducing costs but by either being more productive or by selling more product. (Both of these are true when adding natural daylighting)

The next step is locating a contractor or daylighting engineer to determine how many square feet of skylights you need and what the cost will be. Your needs for foot candles of light will vary depending upon your usage and it is important to do business with those that have experience and first hand knowledge of this information.

This is all pretty much standard up to this point, including the acrylic domes that you see spaced apart evenly throughout a roof. Most domes are 4' x 4' and sometimes you'll even see 5' x 5's to better match the space between the bar joists. (Less cost overall because there is less framing to install)

However, what has changed recently is another way to even save more of the initial installation cost. Instead of installing 4' x 4' units we have discovered that you can save by installing less skylights that are sized larger (5' x 8', 10', 12' or 14' units) and have advanced features such as no need for extra fall protection and better U-Values, etc.   You save by not having so many little roof openings to cut and flash, less framing to install, along with quicker installation, better distribution of light, better appearance for stores, no unsightly grids or cost for OSHA fall protection, better control of light and heat gain or loss, more durable glazing for protection from extreme weather like hail or wind storms, and better light.