Efficient daylighting is fundamental to high-performance sustainable buildings, and nothing brings daylight into a space as effectively as a skylight. The challenge with skylights in a high-performance building is that roof glazing complicates the continuous air barrier that is crucial to minimizing the energy used by our buildings. A mishap when detailing connections between flashing/roof insulation and skylight can lead to worsened energy performance, undermining the thoughtful planning you put into the rest of the building. In addition, introducing skylights creates the potential for condensation, overheating, and air or water leaks that can lead building professionals to pause before designing or installing a skylight. That’s why finding the right skylight solution for the job is so critical.

Lamilux has been in the skylight business since 1955, and has built a reputation over that time for integrity and service in the industry. Lamilux’s slogan is “Customized Intelligence,” which is fitting given the variety of high performance solutions that they have available. Lamilux is constantly innovating, and so it should come as no surprise that Lamilux was the first manufacturer to offer Passive House Certified skylights and glass roof systems.

Lamilux solutions offer best in class performance, as they are engineered in Germany to meet stringent European building standards. The Lamilux FE unit skylight exemplifies Lamilux’s dedication to performance as a Passive House Institute Certified Class ph-C skylight.

At 475, we like to divide Lamilux products into three main categories:

Lamilux FE Unit Skylights
Lamilux PR-60 Roof Glazing Systems
Lamilux Roof Access Solutions

For more details on selecting the best solution for your project, please see our summaries of each product category below, or feel free to reach out to our Lamilux Product Consultant Jeremy (jeremy@foursevenfive.com).

1) Lamilux FE Unit Skylights:

If you're looking for a high performance skylight, rectangular in shape, up to 10’ in length, and pre-assembled for plug and play installation, then you are looking for a Lamilux FE unit skylight. Lamilux FE skylights have been engineered to maximize interior comfort and minimize condensation by providing a thermally continuous assembly. With triple layer insulated glazing, a thermally broken aluminum profile, and an insulated curb, the FE allows for simple integration with air and thermal control layers in the roof.

In addition to excellent thermal performance and airtightness, the FE offers a high level of customization and is ideally suited to satisfy many project specific needs. FE skylights are available in a variety of sizes (standard and custom) and with a variety of curb heights (8”, 12”, 16”, or 20”). FEs can be equipped with shading, motorized ventilation, powder coated profiles (in RAL color of your choice), and wind/rain sensors.

Lamilux FE skylights can be manufactured in standard sizes, with an insulated fiberglass curb made from rigid polyurethane, or in custom sizes, with a uPVC adapter for attachment to a site built curb. Keep in mind that the FE Unit Skylights are often stocked in sizes 29” x 29” and 29” x 41” by 475 in the US with a lead time of 7-10 days.

In addition to the standard FE, there are a variety of alternate FE unit skylight products for different design/performance requirements, including:

FE Passivhaus - PHI ph-A Certified
FE 3-Degree - Manufactured with integrated 3-Degree pitch
FE Exit Hatch - Equipped with pistons or folding arm drives for roof access
FE Round - Circular unit skylight
FP/FW - Pyramid/hipped unit skylights

For a list of available specs and sizes please visit the respective product page on our Daylighting Website.

For additional information on FE Unit Skylights, check out the blog posts below:

2) Lamilux PR-60 Roof Glazing Systems:

If your project calls for a custom roof glazing element larger than 10’ in length with the option for multiple glass fields, look no further than the Lamilux PR-60. The PR-60 is essentially a thermally broken curtain wall for use primarily on roofs. This curtain wall is delivered as a kit of parts that includes: triple layer insulated glazing, thermally broken aluminum profiles, and insulated flashing connections to the existing structure. The PR-60 is a mullion and transom system, so its name comes from the German initials for the words mullion and transom (Pfosten and Riegel) combined with the narrow width of all PR-60 profiles - 60 mm (2 3/8”). The PR-60 is ideally suited to bring light into larger public and commercial spaces, although residential applications have been most common here in the US.

The Lamilux PR-60 offers unmatched customization, with the ability for design and installation at virtually any roof angle from 2 - 90 degrees. The PR-60 can accommodate glass fields up to approximately 6’ x 6’ or 10’ x 3’, and is self supporting up to 20’, meaning that there is no substructure or supplementary support required for spans less than 20’. Lamilux offers design and engineering consultation for the PR-60 system at no additional cost, and also offers on site supervision for PR-60 installations. Before manufacture, every PR-60 goes through a thorough review of detailed shop drawings provided by the manufacturer, which ensures that all details are confirmed as expected.

Similar to the FE, the PR-60 can accommodate powder coating of aluminum profiles at the interior and exterior, motorized ventilation, interior or exterior shading, wind/rain automation, and roof access. The PR-60 can also be customized to include beauty caps (for concealment of stainless steel screws), lighting fixtures, and swing/sliding doors.

For a list of available specs and sizes please visit the respective product page on our Daylighting Website.

For additional information on the PR-60, check out the blog posts below:

3) Lamilux Roof Access Solutions:

While the Lamilux PR-60 does offer a fully customizable roof access solution, Lamilux also has two lower cost “standard” roof access solutions. Both of these solutions are triple glazed exit hatches with thermally broken aluminum profiles, manufactured with insulated fiberglass curbs (identical to the curbs used for FE Unit Skylights), which eliminates the need for a troublesome bulkhead.

The first of Lamilux’s roof access solutions is the Lamilux FE Exit Hatch, which was mentioned briefly in the “Unit Skylights” product category above and is ideally suited for roof access via ladder (particularly in smaller, manually operated sizes). The FE Exit Hatch has the same size limitations as the FE Unit Skylight, but cannot be manufactured in custom sizes. The FE Exit Hatch can be manufactured with pneumatic pistons for easy manual roof access up to skylight size 40” x 40” or 28” x 50”. Larger sizes are too heavy for manual operation and so require motorized operation via folding arm drives mounted to the interior of the curb. The FE Exit Hatch is often stocked in sizes 29” x 29” and 29” x 41” by 475 in the US with a lead time of 7-10 days.

Lamilux’s other product line covering roof access is the Lamilux Comfort Exit Hatches, which are ideally suited for roof access at the top of a staircase. These motorized exit hatches come in three varieties, each variety available in one or two standard sizes.

Introduction to Lamilux Skylights