Electric opening rooflights in Stockport

Kitchens and dining tables

In a kitchen, an opening rooflight can be used every day. Cooking fills a room with steam, and a rooflight above the worktop gives it somewhere to go. A wall button by the doorway, or a handset left on the shelf, means nobody fetches a pole with a pan in one hand. A dining extension works the same way: the table sits under the glass, and on a close afternoon you open the roof without moving the laptop or the homework.

Landings, loft rooms and bathrooms

• Landings and stairwells: a skylight at the top of a stair can be a long way above anyone's hand. A fixed one lights the landing but cannot be opened. A motor puts the control on the landing wall.
• Loft rooms: a loft conversion has roof windows over the bed or the desk, and you want to open them without climbing onto furniture.
• Bathrooms: a window over the bath is the same story, with the controls and the wiring route chosen for the damp and a damp-room blind beneath it.

Extensions, orangeries and natural light

Add a kitchen to the back of a semi, or an orangery-style room under a flat roof, and the daylight that reached the house through the old rear wall is cut off. Over the centre of the room, a flat rooflight brings natural light down, and an opening one lets the same glass handle the kitchen steam. On a Victorian terrace in Edgeley or Reddish, a back addition that is short of light can take one over the worktop. A conservatory given a solid roof follows the same logic.

Where a pole is simply fine

Not every rooflight needs a motor. A window within easy reach opens by its handle, and one a little higher opens with a control rod. If the ceiling is low and the person using the room is tall and able, manual is the sensible answer, because an electric unit is a larger fitting than a manual one.

Going out for the afternoon and coming home to a wet sill is a familiar worry with any window. On a rooflight the stakes feel higher, because the glass is above you and the rain can fall straight into the room.

Rain sensors are a maker's feature

A rain sensor is a small detector on the unit, and the maker says it closes the glass when drops hit it. Some makers include one on their electric and solar models and some sell it as an add-on. Others do not have one at all. Ask the maker which of its models carry one before you choose, and our page on rooflight rain sensors sets out what to ask a maker.

Habits as well as gadgets

A sensor covers the afternoon you forget. Shutting the glass when you leave, and keeping the remote in one place, covers the rest. Some people close the rooflight with the last light switch of the day. Other households keep the opening to a small gap, because a small gap can let steam out while letting in less rain.

Looking after the sensor

A sensor sits on the glass or the frame, so leaves, dust and bird droppings can land on it. Wipe it with the rest of the outer glass when you clean. Maintenance is a matter of keeping it clear and noticing that the window does close, and the maker's manual says what else it asks for. If the glass stays open in a shower, tell the maker, because a sensor that is not responding has stopped doing its job.

The glass when closed

When closed, the unit should be weathertight and watertight like a fixed one. The sealing between the frame and the opening glass is checked at handover, where we point out how to see that the glass has closed fully. If it has not seated, it is better to know on the day than during the first storm.

Shade for each room

Blinds are made for a particular window size and maker. Bedrooms suit blackout, kitchens a lighter fabric that handles the sun, and an office something that cuts glare on the screen. Bathrooms use damp-room blinds. Some makers offer motorised blinds that work from the same remote, which is worth asking about if you are already choosing an electric window.

A flat rooflight over a utility room, with the washing machine, wet boots and coats, is a good place for an opening unit, because damp air collects there. The blind is a simple one, the controls sit by the door, and the glass opens for the duration of the wash.

Reaching the outer glass

The outer glass of a pitched roof window can be reached by turning a centre-pivot window so the outside faces the room. On a flat roof the top face of the glass is washed from outside, with a water-fed pole worked from the garden or a ladder set against the wall. Nobody should climb onto an opening rooflight, since only walk-on units are made to be stood on.

The inner face is cleaned from the room with a long-handled tool. A motor can raise the glass to let you reach round the frame. Keep any cleaning product away from seals and from the controller.