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Just wanted to pass along a recommendation for a solar powered skylight to anyone considering going with a skylight that opens. I had a skylight with an intermittent leak. To figure out where the leak was, they were going to have to pull the skylight. Since they were older and a bit cloudy, I decided to upgrade to a skylight that can be opened. This would also help keep the room a bit cooler, as it would let out excess heat.
The crew had already installed the new skylights when we realized they had installed the wrong ones. The supplier had sent solar powered ones, instead of the manually operated version. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but we are really happy with them. They include a rain sensor that will automatically close them if it starts raining. We just had a light rain, and the feature worked well. Because it was an error with the supplier, the contractor was able to work out a price compromise that everyone could live with. However, if I had it to do over, I would opt to go with the more expensive solar version anyway.
We had an old 8'x8; skylight that was not properly installed in our sunroom/home office, it caused major leakage...especially with the flat room design. We had the whole roof exposed to find the joists spacing was too much which caused the skylight to slowly sink. We had everything properly repaired and replaced the large skylight with 2 Velux manually venting skylights.
I regretted not going for the solar powered skylights after realizing there was a 30% tax credit for green home improvements, which includes the cost of installation. The higher priced solar powered operators would have been negated with the tax credit. I don't mind opening and closing them, but the auto-rain sensing skylights would have been nice.
I had a tubular skylight. It was installed on a vaulted ceiling. No leaks, but even tinted it was producing a lot of heat. During hot Texas summers the heat beaming from that skylight into the room was 130+F.
The room was nicely lighted but always very hot. I had finally insulated it and closed it from inside, and it will be removed next time I get my roof replaced (which happens frequently due to hail damages).
I regretted not going for the solar powered skylights after realizing there was a 30% tax credit for green home improvements, which includes the cost of installation. The higher priced solar powered operators would have been negated with the tax credit. I don't mind opening and closing them, but the auto-rain sensing skylights would have been nice.
According to the form at the Velux site, the Federal rebates are 26% for 2020 and 22% for 2021.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elnina
They are very pricey, though....
Yes, they are pricey and before I had mine installed, I would have been hard to convince to spend the extra. However, after having them installed (and with the Federal tax credit), I would not hesitate to do it again.
According to the form at the Velux site, the Federal rebates are 26% for 2020 and 22% for 2021.
Yes, they are pricey and before I had mine installed, I would have been hard to convince to spend the extra. However, after having them installed (and with the Federal tax credit), I would not hesitate to do it again.
Ah yes, I'm still living in 2015. That's when I had my skylights and 4.8kW solar array installed...right before the 30% and our local NEM 1.0 offerings expired. I'm not sure what the going price on a solar powered skylight is now, but I know the price of solar arrays have dropped at least 20%. Their efficiency gains about 8% every year based on improvements in design so the older models keep dropping.
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