A Preliminary Study of Skylight Preferences

Previous research on environmental fenestration has generally neglected the study of people's preferences for skylights. In an attempt to fill this void, three studies were conducted to assess skylight preferences and to explore the theoretical bases of these preferences. In Experiment 1, preferences for skylights varying in size and degree of clarity were made for 14 spaces. Analyses indicated that skylights preferences vary widely across spaces, but they are generally less desirable than windows. Skylights were judged to be particularly desirable in family rooms, living rooms, and kitchens. In Experiment 2, skylight preferences were obtained for 17 spaces. For these spaces, commonness of skylights and reasons for wanting skylights were evaluated by different subjects. One finding was that subjects believed skylights were less common than they would like them to be. Results also indicated that mean skylight preferences are reasonably reliable as well as predictable by both commonness and reasons. Experiment 3 was similar to Experiment 2 except that a within-subjects design was used. The results confirmed the findings of Experiment 2. In addition, they provided more detailed information about the relative importance of commonness and reasons for each space studied. Implications for future research and theory are discussed.