January's just about over, so how are those New Year's Resolutions going?
While the majority of people in the US made New Year's Resolutions in 2017, only about 9% felt they successfully achieved their goals. And after the first month, there was a significant drop in the number of people who were still maintaining their resolutions. So for 2018, why don't we try improving those numbers?
Believe it or not, having a skylight in your home can actually help with that!
Improving Health
Based on the 10 most common New Year's Resolutions of 2017, 46.3% of people made goals related to improving health. And although a skylight may not be able to make you choose vegetables over french fries, having one can go a long way in improving your overall health and well-being.
When you install a skylight, you're only going to increase the amount of sunlight you're exposed to each day. That extra sunlight can help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, enhance your mood, and prevent vitamin D and B1 deficiencies. Conversely, insufficient natural lighting can cause eye fatigue and headaches, trigger depression, and even have a negative effect on the immune system.
Cutting Back
Another 12.6% of resolution-makers in 2017 decided to improve their finances and financial decisions in some way. While buying and installing a skylight may not seem like a step in the right direction for those goals, we're here to tell you why it is.
Skylights help reduce energy consumption and costs around your home. By using more natural lighting and ventilation, you're able to lessen your dependency on artificial lighting and reduce your use of electricity by as much as 10%. In other words, installing a skylight could drastically lower your monthly utility bills!
And thanks to the Emergency Stabilization Act (2008) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009), you can get a tax credit of up to 30% on the purchase and installation of Velux's Solar Powered "Fresh Air" Skylights, Energy Performance Model Skylights and Solar Powered Blinds! This 30% federal tax credit averages around $850 so, in most cases, your skylight ends up being free!
Doing More
A couple of the top 10 New Year's Resolutions of 2017 worthy of note included, "Do more exciting things" and "Learn something new." And, you guessed it, skylights can help with that too!
Increased exposure to natural lighting improves performance and stimulates creativity. There have been many case studies conducted that show significant performance improvement in workplaces where employees work by natural lighting. Remember: bright light stimulates the mind while dim illumination quiets the senses.
Good luck with the rest of 2018! Here's to being better and doing more and finally installing that skylight!
