One of the biggest reasons for applying window film to a skylight is to help maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. Skylights exist to let the maximum amount of natural light in, but this also means that there is another big pane of glass through which heat can pass back and forth. If you’re trying to stay cool indoors while the sun is blazing outside or keep warm on a cool night, a skylight can be problematic because it lets the heat from the sun in or warm air from your HVAC system out.

You can solve this problem by applying heat-blocking window film to your skylight, which will reduce solar heat gain and prevent warm air from escaping through the glass. Not only does this drastically improve your indoor comfort, but it can help you save money on your monthly utility bill as well. By blocking out heat and trapping warm air inside, window film helps you cut down on your use of heating and cooling systems and save energy.

Along with natural light come the sun’s harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays. Prolonged and repeated exposure to these UV rays can cause skin and eye damage, so it’s best to avoid them as much as possible and use the proper protection when you’re in the sun. If you spend hours under a skylight, you might not notice how much sun you’re actually receiving.

When you install window film on a skylight, it will block out around 99.9% of the sun’s harmful UV rays, so you don’t have to worry about overexposure. If you’re concerned that tinting your skylight will also block out natural light, you can actually achieve the same UV blocking with clear window films. That way, you can still enjoy all the good parts of having a skylight without the damaging effects of UV rays.

Certain types of window tinting films can help reduce glare from the sun to a certain degree. Depending on the style of tint you choose, you can potentially stop all glare from passing through a skylight. This can be especially useful for skylights in offices above where employees work on their computers or if you have a skylight in a room of your home where there is a TV or computer, such as an entertainment room or a home office.

Though privacy is not as much of a concern with skylights as it is with windows, some skylights are in positions that could potentially allow prying eyes to see inside your home or business. Window film is available in many different tints, colors, and reflective variations, so you can stop people on the outside from peering in through an exposed skylight. For example, a mirrored skylight film can create a two-way mirror effect when the light outside is brighter than the light inside. That way, nobody can see in through the skylight during the daytime when the sun is shining.

Remember those harmful UV rays we mentioned earlier? Those are the same UV rays that cause things like furniture, upholstery, photos, carpets, rugs, and more to fade. If your possessions receive light through a skylight, they can fade and diminish in appearance and value over the years. You can drastically slow fading caused by the sun by applying sun control film to your skylights to block out those damaging UV rays.

Besides adding privacy, you can also use tinted, colored, or mirrored window film to change the appearance of skylight glass. Skylight tinting may be particularly useful for commercial building owners looking to update the entire appearance of something like an older office building. Skylight window film can be applied as part of a facade re-imaging process to give a commercial facility a facelift and add to its curb appeal.

Just like glass doors and windows, a skylight made out of traditional window glass is a property’s weak point. Standard glass shatters very easily due to an intentional or accidental impact. Security window film adds a layer of protection that helps keep the glass intact, even after repeated impacts. This creates an extra barrier that can delay break-in attempts, prevent vandalism damage, and keep the glass intact during a storm or earthquake.

For example, if your home or business is located in a hurricane-prone area or somewhere where strong windstorms are frequent, a stray branch other debris picked up by a storm could easily break through a regular glass skylight. This can lead to even more expensive damage if rainwater starts accumulating inside through the broken skylight. Security window film can stand up to many high-force impacts and, even if storm debris does shatter your skylight, will hold the broken glass in place and keep it from flying dangerously inwards.