Best Skylight Options for Michigan Homes

A fixed skylight doesn't open, so it's the simplest unit to live with: nothing to operate or close. VELUX sells fixed skylights in curb-mounted, deck-mounted and self-flashed versions. Deck-mounted units fasten to the roof deck and tie into the shingles with the manufacturer's flashing.

VELUX's No Leak skylights are built with three layers of water protection: a deck seal or gasket, underlayment, and flashing. VELUX backs proper skylight and flashing installations with a 10-year No Leak installation warranty against leaks, which it says applies regardless of who installed it.

A venting skylight opens, so it lets hot, humid air out as well as light in. VELUX's manual Fresh Air skylights open by hand or with a telescopic rod, which makes them the simplest venting option: no wiring, no battery, no remote.

The tradeoff is that you have to remember to close it. On a skylight you can reach, or one over a room you're in every day, that's rarely a problem.

An exterior solar panel charges a concealed battery, which VELUX says charges even on cloudy days, and the battery opens and closes the skylight. A rain sensor closes it automatically when rain starts, and it comes with a pre-programmed remote. That rain sensor is the feature we'd point to for a skylight you can't reach: it closes on its own when the weather turns.

VELUX also makes an electric Fresh Air version for homes where hardwiring makes more sense.

A tubular skylight brings daylight down through a tube from a small dome on the roof to a ceiling fixture below. VELUX's Sun Tunnel comes with a rigid or flexible tube, and the tube has a polished aluminum inner surface that reflects the light down.

It gives light, not a view, and it doesn't open. In exchange, it fits where a framed skylight can't, because there's no shaft to build between the roof and the ceiling. We've replaced one, and the photos are in our gallery.

Solatube International pioneered the tubular daylighting device and has more than 30 years of development behind it. The company is headquartered and manufactures in Vista, California, and also makes solar and electric home and attic ventilation products.

It's the other name you'll hear when you shop for a tubular skylight.

For West Michigan's summer hail, the glass matters. VELUX's standard safety glass is already laminated, and its skylight system warranty covers hail damage on skylights with laminated glass. On other brands, or on domed and tubular units, ask what the glazing is and whether hail is covered.

The rest of that warranty: 10 years on installation, 20 years on the glass against seal failure, 10 years on the product, and 5 years on shades and controls.

A curb-mounted skylight sits on a raised frame built up from the roof deck, rather than fastening directly to the deck. VELUX offers its fixed and Fresh Air skylights as curb-mounted units.

Pitch decides a lot here. A deck-mounted unit on a roof that's too flat for its flashing kit will leak, which is why the roof's pitch should decide the mount, and why low-slope roofs usually get a curb-mounted unit.

Wasco Skylights, now part of VELUX Commercial, has made structural and unit skylights for more than 80 years, in acrylic, polycarbonate and glass, for commercial and residential use. Its residential line includes self-flashed deck-mount units.

FAKRO, sold in the U.S. as FAKRO America, makes skylights, roof windows, roof hatches, balcony windows and attic ladders. We haven't reviewed its warranty terms, so ask the installer for them in writing.