SENIORS BENEFIT FROM NATURAL LIGHT And Builders Benefit From Providing It

According to the Center of Design For An Aging Society in Portland, Oregon, older people need more light (about 3 to 5 times more than younger people) for both vision and maintaining health. Seniors are well aware that as they age their eye lenses thicken and their pupils shrink. This causes their eyes to adapt more slowly to changing light conditions and increases the need for more light, for vision, safety, and for health reasons.

Builders who provide the maximum amount of balanced, natural light through windows and skylights differentiate their homes and put themselves in a stronger selling position.

Also, many seniors don’t get outside enough; another reason builders should bring more natural light in. Older adults need vitamin D for calcium to be absorbed by the body to strengthen teeth, bones and tissue to maintain a healthy skeleton throughout life. Two sources of vitamin D are diet and sunlight. In healthy human bodies, 80 percent of vitamin D is produced in the skin when it is exposed to natural light.

And the benefits of having abundant daylight in homes aren’t just physical. Studies show that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), evidenced by emotional depression, a drop in physical energy, increased appetite, and need for more sleep, is directly linked to a lack of sufficient daylight.

Some researchers are concluding that light therapy may help to alleviate SAD symptoms faster than antidepressant drugs. In a review of clinical trials of light therapy, Dr. Daniel Kripke at the University of California, San Diego reported that light therapy benefits not only SAD patients but also people suffering from other forms of depression. Savvy builders who maximize natural light in their homes, and aggressively promote it in their marketing, afford themselves another selling point important to this growing segment of the housing market.

Sunlight can enter dwellings and be balanced through the use of windows, doors and skylights. According to Joe Patrick, senior product manager with VELUX America, skylights admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers while providing the drama of a sky view. “Skylights also offer much more privacy than vertical windows without taking up valuable wall space that can be used for decorating or storage,” Patrick says, “a marketing advantage for builders selling to seniors who are downsizing living spaces.”

“And from the buyer’s standpoint,” Patrick points out, “venting skylights admit light from above and reduce energy costs while transforming living areas into bright, safer spaces. They provide a dose of the medicine that daylight and fresh air offer,” he says. “It’s also a way for them to stretch fixed-income dollars,” Patrick says, “with a one-time purchase that pays benefits over time by reducing energy costs.”

Appeal to your buyers by providing abundant natural light in your homes and assist them by advising them they can obtain more information on the benefits of natural light and skylight selection by calling 1-800-283-2831 or by visiting www.veluxusa.com. For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency, they can visit www.energystar.gov, and for independent agency information, www.nfrc.org or www.efficientwindows.org.

# # #

Image Caption – Researchers McFarland and Fisher report that to accommodate the adaptation of the aging eye, the amount of light required for visual acuity doubles for each 13 years after age 20.

Joe Patrick is senior product manager with VELUX America, the world’s leading producer of skylights.