Wiring answer
Do electric rooflights need an electrician?
An electric skylight is a small motor on a roof, but the power behind it comes from the house. Where that power starts and how it travels decides how much of the job is electrical work.
The answer
The mains supply to an electric rooflight is electrical work, so it should be done by a qualified electrician, who will also say what certificate comes with it. The motor, sensor and handset are a matched low-voltage kit that fits to the rooflight. Solar and battery models avoid a new supply cable, and a Tyneside flat can change the cable route.
Which part of the job is electrical work?
Anything taking mains power to the rooflight: a new spur, a fused connection, a switch or a socket for the transformer. That needs a qualified electrician, not a general fitter.
Most electric rooflights run on a low voltage that is fed from a small transformer or control box. That box in turn needs a mains feed from the house wiring. The feed is the electrical part of the job, and it should be put in by someone qualified to do it.
What the electrician does
They take a supply from a suitable point in the existing circuit or from the consumer unit, run the cable to where the transformer or control box will sit, fit a fused connection or switch, and test the result. Where the work adds to or alters a circuit in a home, ask what certificate will be issued, because electrical work in a dwelling has its own part of the Building Regulations and the paperwork belongs with the house papers.
Why not do it yourself
A badly wired supply is a fire and shock risk in a space full of insulation and timber. It is also hard to inspect later, since the cable runs over a ceiling or through a roof void. Even a confident home wirer should think twice about a circuit that serves a moving, weather-exposed motor.
The parts of a system are shown on our electric and opening rooflights page.
What fits to the rooflight without an electrician?
The motor, rain sensor, handset and control lead are a matched low-voltage kit, plugged together as a set. Fitting them to the unit is part of the rooflight installation.
Once the supply reaches the transformer, the rest of the system speaks a low voltage that is far safer to handle. The motor is built into or fixed on the rooflight frame, and the sensor, switch or handset connect to the control box with plug-in leads that match the maker's own plugs.
Why a matched set matters
Motors, sensors and controls are designed to work as one system. A sensor from one range may not talk to a motor from another, and a handset must be paired to the controller that runs the sash. We fit the set the maker intended, so the parts agree. If you want to add a rain sensor or app control later, our guide to rain sensors, remotes and controls explains which parts can be added.
Where the pieces sit
The control box lives near the rooflight, typically up in the roof space beside the opening, where it can be reached by hatch. In a flat-roofed extension with no loft, it is often tucked into a ceiling void or a cupboard. Deciding that spot early, before the ceiling is closed, keeps the job tidy.
Is there a version that avoids new wiring?
Yes. Solar-powered rooflights charge a battery from a small cell on the unit and are controlled by handset, so no supply cable is needed. They suit finished rooms where a cable run is awkward.
If a cable would mean opening up a finished ceiling, there is an alternative. A few units have a small solar cell charging a rechargeable battery held in the frame, and they are operated by a radio handset. No mains supply is needed.
What you give up
A battery system relies on the light reaching the cell. A rooflight facing a clear sky will keep itself charged easily. A shaded one, or one under a tall tree, may struggle in the dull months, and the motor may be slower or weaker when the charge is low. These units usually move a sash a little more gently than a mains motor.
What you keep
The rain sensor, the handset and the sash are all still there. The sash still closes in the wet. Because the system sits entirely within the rooflight, it is a good fit when the roof is shared and you would rather not run cables beyond your own walls.
Does a Tyneside flat change how the cable is run?
It can. The cable route may cross a floor, ceiling or party wall belonging to the other flat. Check your title or lease, speak to the other owner, and consider a battery or solar unit.
In a house the cable stays within your own walls. In a Tyneside flat, upstairs or downstairs, it may not. Whichever flat you own, the flat's lease or title is where the roof's ownership is written down, together with anything the neighbour must be asked. Look it up and talk to them before you commit.
Planning and the opening
If the electric rooflight is replacing an existing unit, the question is the swap. If it is a new opening, flats and maisonettes have no householder permitted development, so a new rooflight on a Tyneside flat needs planning permission from the council. The motor does not change that. The treatment of each home type is covered in our rooflight planning guide.
Building Control
Cutting a new opening is building work. It is notified to Building Control: the local authority or a registered building control approver. We make that notification whenever the work calls for one.
Ask about the wiring before ordering
- Where will the mains supply come from, and who is fitting it?
- What certificate will the electrical work come with?
- Where will the control box sit, and can it be reached?
- Would a solar or battery unit avoid a cable across a boundary?
- Does the title or lease mention the roof or shared services?
Wiring a motorised skylight: your queries
Can the rooflight plug into an ordinary socket?
Some control boxes do plug into a socket, which keeps the electrical side simple, but the socket must be installed properly and sit where the box can reach it. A fixed, switched connection is a tidier option and suits rooms where a lead would show.
Does the electrician need to be on the roof?
No. The mains work happens inside the building, between the consumer unit and the control box. The roof work is fitting the rooflight and its motor, and the two trades only meet at the control box.
Will I get a certificate for the electrics?
Ask whoever does the electrical work what they will issue before they start. Keep it with the house papers, because it may be asked for when the house is sold. Our guarantee covers our workmanship on the rooflight itself.
What happens to the rooflight in a power cut?
A mains motor stops where it is, so ask for a manual release or a back-up battery on the system. A solar and battery unit may carry on for a while from its own charge. Check the release before the rooflight is signed off.