Do you project the image of a future house bathed in light? To go from dream to reality without disappointment, calling on an experienced designer is a good option. Depending on your project and your desires, he will direct you to the best solutions so that you can take full advantage of all the advantages of natural lighting in your home: well-being, aesthetics, energy savings, added value. for resale, etc.

From the start of your self-built luminous house project, certain important points should nevertheless be considered. VELUX tells you everything!

How to bring natural light into a self-build house?

The design of the house is a complex work. The best solution may be to entrust this part of your project to an architect . If necessary, he can also take care of coordinating all the work necessary for the construction of your house.

As soon as you have found the right professional to support you in your self-build home project, let him know your desire to bring as much natural light as possible into each room and what you have imagined. It will tell you what types of openings to create, their number and their locations. Without forgetting the possibility of inserting roof windows!

Vertical windows and skylights to maximize light

To start designing a bright house, you must first choose where and how to make openings. Before fixing your choice, keep in mind that the size of the opening of a window must be equal to 10% of the living area or 1/6th of the floor area at a minimum. Also good to know: for the same size, a roof window diffuses twice as much light as a vertical window.

Consider these two aspects:

The light coming through the vertical windows changes during the day depending on the position of the sun. In fact, it does not reach the deepest spaces, thus leaving them in the dark. If possible, opt for several vertical windows on at least two of the walls of the room. This will allow light to enter the room from several directions and therefore a more homogeneous distribution of light.

Skylights provide natural light throughout the day. Thanks to their inclination, they also allow light to enter better, guaranteeing greater luminosity than vertical windows. To better illuminate each room, you can install several roof windows,  making sure to align them either vertically or horizontally to the roof for an aesthetic look.

A roof window is thus the way to take advantage of an opening on the outside and to connect to nature, which immediately gives a feeling of well-being. Admit that it is very relaxing to let your gaze wander off to admire a moving sky.

It is also proven that natural light boosts morale, the immune system and cognitive performance. In addition, with a roof window, you benefit from good ventilation and therefore fresh air for a healthy and pleasant environment.

Nevertheless, designing a house bathed in natural light thanks to roof windows cannot be improvised. It is important to study how many to insert, what size to choose and in what positions to install them. They can also be a strong element of decoration and interior scenography depending on their design and color for an even more pleasant home.

Building a new home is an opportunity to opt for a more sustainable lifestyle. From construction materials to the choice of appliances, there are many solutions available to you to reduce your home’s energy consumption  and therefore its environmental impact.

Installing roof windows can help you improve the energy efficiency of your home. Indeed, a house naturally lit during the day is a house that depends less on artificial light. Thanks to roof windows, you save on lighting, which leads to a reduction in your electricity consumption and therefore in your electricity bill! Another advantage: roof windows bring light all day long and deep into the rooms in which they have been installed. Result: all you have to do is artificially light the other rooms in the house, especially those that are the darkest.

Skylights also help to optimize the use of room heating and cooling systems. During the coldest period (December-January-February), roof windows let the heat of the sun penetrate your interior, which helps to heat your house and therefore reduce the use of heating

To control light and indoor temperature, you have a wide range of solutions. Like the VELUX external sun blinds that improve the comfort of life in your home, in addition to protecting it from the heat.

Why is brightness a real added value for your home?

The most sought-after houses on the market are the bright houses. All you have to do is read a few real estate ads to realize that brightness is one of the essential quality criteria in the eyes of future buyers. After price, location and location, it is also the criterion that gives the most value to a house.

Are you still looking for a good reason to install roof windows when building your new home  ? Be aware that beyond the aesthetic rendering and their ability to best illuminate each of the rooms in which they have been installed, roof windows increase the market value of your property. When you want to resell it, you can therefore sell it faster and more expensively.

Now that you know the importance of having a home with lots of natural light and the added value that light gives to a home, consider contacting VELUX advisors. Listening to your self-build project, they help you choose the solutions best suited to your needs, your desires and your lifestyle to enable you to build the house of your dreams.