Why Do We Need Natural Daylight In Our Homes?

When we have access to electricity at the flick of a switch, it can be easy to ignore the need for natural daylight. Natural daylight is hugely important to our way of life and most of the time, we don’t give it a second thought.

It is easy to look at your home and feel like you don’t have many options when allowing natural daylight in, but products like roof windows, roof lanterns and even bi-folding doors are designed to do just that.

Here we are going to take a look at why natural daylight can benefit you as a person.

Improves Mood

One of the more important reasons for adding more natural daylight to your home is to increase your overall mood. Sunny days are often linked to happiness, whilst gloomy days are often linked to dull and dreary moods and there is a scientific reason behind it.

When exposed to natural sunlight, the brain releases a chemical called serotonin, also known as the happy hormone. Serotonin contributes to a much better mood as well as feeling focused and calm. Lack of sunlight (experienced at night time) triggers the brain to release melatonin, which makes you feel dreary and lethargic.

Without natural daylight, our serotonin levels drop much like they do in the evening, prompting that lethargic and dreary feeling to last all day and is why it is associated with seasonal affective disorder, which is the dull feeling we get during the darker months of the year.

Productivity Boost

With working from home becoming a more normal thing over the past year, given the circumstances the whole world has found itself in, natural daylight does have an effect on productivity in a positive way.

In a survey completed by Future Workplace, they asked 1614 North American employees what they would like to see improved in their own workplace, with a staggering amount opting for increased natural daylight over options such as onsite cafeterias and even premium perks including onsite childcare.

As stated previously, natural daylight improves your mood due to serotonin levels, which in turn leads to better motivation to complete your tasks. This has been proven via many studies that found that people do generally perform better in areas that are well lit by natural daylight as opposed to areas that are either darker or lit by artificial lighting.

Save Pennies On Bills

We all like to save a bit of money in any way that we can and daylight can do just that. Using electricity and gas to light and heat up your home can become expensive, but with the use of natural daylight, not only will you benefit from reducing your electricity usage, you will also benefit from reducing gas usage, as windows will aid in keeping a consistent temperature within the room.

Reduces Strain On Your Eyes

Artificial lighting, whilst beneficial when needed, does also have its downfalls. One of them is that they can have an effect on your eyesight. Of course, we are aware of this more so with electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, smartphones and so on, but we very rarely consider how lighting from ceiling lights and lamps can have such a negative affect on our eyesight. 

Artificial daylight can cause our eyes to strain, whilst natural daylight allows your eyes to focus more naturally. This is why we find it much easier to wake up to natural daylight rather than someone switching a light on.

Make Your Rooms Larger

Daylight doesn’t literally alter the size of your rooms, however, it can make your room feel larger than what it actually is. Brighter colours like magnolia and white are colours that are hugely popular due to how clean they look, but you may notice that new homes, whether rented or bought, are often coated with these colours.

Why? This is because the use of natural daylight along with bright colours such as white and magnolia will often make the room feel like it is larger than what it is and of course, every resident likes more space.

A Positive For The Environment

Regardless of whether you use electricity or gas, more often than not, they contribute to a negative impact on the environment. The use of fossil fuels has long been an issue that people have looked to combat for many years, especially more recently as we begin to see the effects of climate change.

The use of natural daylight lowers our electricity and gas consumption, which decreases our reliance on fossil fuels. This then lowers the negative impact we make on our environment and contributes to a much more positive climate.

At AC Supplies, we provide various products that can allow natural daylight to enter your home and there are many reasons why we should all consider this when we plan our next conversion project. We have an extensive range of RoofLITE+ and VELUX windows, along with stunning Korniche roof lanterns and Visofold 1000 bi-folding doors.

If you would like to know more about the options you have, where you can increase the natural daylight in your home, please contact our sales office for more information.

VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit – Innovation At Its Finest

For many years, VELUX has been known as the market leader for roof windows and when they act, everyone follows. However, nearly 2 years ago, Velux teamed up with smart home tech company NETATMO to bring arguably one of the most innovative products in the roof window market; the VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit.

A wise man once said that technology that is seamless is technology that is here to stay and it remains no different when we talk about the VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit. Having been part of the Velux range for a short while now, customers have had the chance to get to grips with this innovative product and it is fair to say that it has been well received.

When you delve into the capabilities of this product, it is easy to see why it is a product that will be around for some time. Within the package, you receive the VELUX ACTIVE Gateway, a departure switch and an indoor climate sensor, with the switch and sensor also available separately for multiple rooms and exits. 

The VELUX ACTIVE Gateway links up to your INTEGRA products such as your electric or solar powered roof windows, blinds and shutters. This product is essentially the brains behind the operation and when linked to your Wi-Fi can access local weather information. The gateway then links to your switch and sensor allowing you to achieve a whole range of capabilities that benefit you and your family.

The VELUX ACTIVE Indoor Climate Sensor is recommended for installation into each room that has an INTEGRA product to achieve maximum benefit. The sensor monitors various elements within your room such as temperature, humidity and CO2 levels. When the sensor detects a large increase of any of these levels, it will act accordingly with the gateway, which then operates your VELUX INTEGRA product in the appropriate manner.

For example, if the sensor detects an increase in humidity, it will essentially inform the VELUX ACTIVE Gateway, which will then program your roof window to open to decrease this humidity level. If the sensor detects that your room is overheating, it will send a signal to your gateway to inform your external shutters or awning blinds to close to reduce the temperature. The sensor also has a switch on them, allowing you to open and close your roof windows as and when you please.

The VELUX ACTIVE Departure Switch is the final component in the package and is a product that does what it says on the tin; when you leave your home, simply tap the switch on your way out and your VELUX roof windows will close. This will also allow for the ventilation flap to remain open, so that your room can stay ventilated whilst remaining secure.

It is recommended that one of these switches is installed near every exit of your home. This is so you can exit through any door you like and close your windows as you leave, which is much more convenient than going to one exit, tapping the switch and then leaving through another exit.

This kit allows for a variety of other features such as predefined shortcuts for opening and closing all blinds and shutters, so that you can benefit from a good night’s sleep and be woken naturally from the stream of sunlight entering your room. You can also control multiple products with just one tap, offering synchronized operation of your products.

You can download the VELUX ACTIVE application from Google Play Store or Apple Store, enabling you to control your INTEGRA products via your smartphone. This allows for complete control from wherever you are in your home, ensuring that you don’t always have to get up from your sofa to activate your roof windows and blinds via the switches.

What is probably the most impressive feature and is certainly for those who want a smart home feel is the ability to control your INTEGRA products with just your voice alone. Thanks to Apple HomeKit technology (not available at A.C. Supplies), all you have to say is ‘Hey Siri, open my roof window’ and your roof window will open for you, meaning you don’t even have to access your VELUX ACTIVE app to control your roof windows and blinds.

It goes without saying that the VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit is a seriously impressive product that is suitable for those who would like additional comfort within their homes or those who want that futuristic, technological feel whilst benefiting from the various features on offer.

The VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit is available for purchase with A.C. Supplies, which you can view by clicking here. If you would like more information regarding the VELUX ACTIVE Home Kit, please call our helpful sales office on 01142 454540.