Roofs and Skylights – a Comprehensive Approach
From a thermal efficiency standpoint, substandard roofing envelope insulation is a major factor contributing to heat loss in residential and commercial buildings. Another important aspect of the challenges associated with planning and building roofing envelopes is the presence of skylights. In typical situations, roofs can generate a heat loss of almost 30% [1] from the total heat of a residence, whereas the presence of skylights pushes that figure to 35%-45% [2] more than a corresponding surface window laterally positioned on a building façade. The phenomenon is attributable to the existence of convection currents, which play a key role in the thermodynamic behavior of the air present in enclosed building spaces. For this reason, skylights are sometimes anecdotally called sky warmers.
More…