Opening rooflight tilted open in a white ceiling, tiled roofs visible through it

Electric Opening Rooflights in Derby

Open the roof from the wall switch.

A motorised rooflight lets you open the ceiling above the spot that gets stuffy, from a switch on the wall or your phone.

Book a free survey

Free survey
Fixed written quote
10-year workmanship guarantee

Three places a motor earns its keep

Looking up at an open rooflight on its motor arm in a white room — Overhead in a white room, a rooflight opening on its motor arm.

Close view of an opening rooflight propped open above a white room, tiles beyond — Out of reach above a white room, propped open at the touch of a button.

Kitchen island with an opening rooflight tilted open overhead — Over a kitchen island, tilted open to let the air through.

Ten years on our workmanship. In writing.

Surveyed before we price
A fixed written quote that does not change on the day
Building Control notification handled

How the guarantee works

Opening rooflight on a flat roof above a brick wall, sash raised

The full guide

Electric opening rooflights, from the wall switch up

An electric opening rooflight is a skylight with a motor in it. You press a button and the glass lifts, and a sensor shuts it again if rain arrives. This guide covers where one belongs, how it is powered, what the glass and frame need to do, and how it is fitted in a Derby roof.

Out of reach
Power and wiring
Glass and sensors
Frame and flashing
Rules and approval
Inside the room

Callout 1

Why anyone wants a motor on a rooflight

Motorised options by roof shape

How electric opening differs across the main rooflight families.
Type	Roof	How it opens	Suits
Roof window	Pitched	Tilts or pivots	Lofts, landings
Flat rooflight	Flat	Lifts on a hinge	Extensions, kitchens
Roof lantern	Flat	Vent in the glazing	Open-plan rooms
Dome rooflight	Flat	Raises on struts	Utility, bathrooms
Sun tunnel	Pitched	Does not open	Halls, corridors

A rooflight that opens is useful. A rooflight that opens and that you can actually reach is far more useful. Most of the places that need fresh air from above are the places you cannot get to. The top of a stairwell. The ceiling above a kitchen island. A bathroom with a pitched ceiling. A bedroom in the roof where the bed sits below the slope. A manual rooflight in any of these needs a long pole, a stool, or a stretch you would rather not make with a hot pan in your hand.

That is the whole case for the motor. It moves the control from the roof to the wall, to a remote, or to your phone. The skylight opens when you want it open, and you never stand on anything to do it.

Starting from the spot, not the product

When we come out for the free survey, we begin by asking which patch of floor or worktop matters most to you. Is it the worktop, the desk, the landing, the basin? The rooflight is placed so its daylight lands there, and the opening part is chosen for what that spot needs. If the spot is a worktop, you want steam and cooking heat to leave through the glass above it, so the opening sits as close over the hob as the roof allows. If the spot is a landing, the priority is warm air that collects at the highest point of the house, and the switch sits at the foot of the stairs where you can reach it.

The same product behaves differently in each room. A motorised unit over a kitchen extension on a flat roof is a different job from a motorised roof window in a loft conversion on a pitched roof. The mechanism, the frame and the way the glass opens all change. So we keep the product choice for after we have seen the room.

What electric opening gives you that a pole does not

There are four things that make owners glad they paid for a motor. You can open the unit while standing across the room. You can open it a little, or fully, and leave it there. A rain sensor can close it for you. And a timer or a smart system can open it without anyone thinking about it. The first of these sounds minor until you live with a high rooflight. The last matters in a house where nobody is home to shut the glass when the weather turns.

If you want the detail on rain and control options, our page on rain sensors and controls on electric rooflights goes through what the sensor does and what happens when the glass is open and the rain starts.

Skylight or rooflight, the words you will hear

Homeowners say skylight. Trade suppliers say rooflight. Both mean glazing set into the roof, and both come as motorised versions. A roof window in a sloping roof, such as a VELUX unit, is one kind. A rooflight over a flat extension roof, or a roof lantern, is another. Electric opening is available across these families, in different forms, and the next chapters explain how it differs between them.

A motor does not make a rooflight better. It makes the ones you cannot reach worth having.

Callout 2

How an electric rooflight is powered

Every motorised rooflight needs electricity from somewhere. The question is where, and how it gets to the roof. There are three routes, and which one is right depends on the room, the ceiling and what is already in the house.

A wired supply from the house

The most common arrangement is a cable from the house wiring to a small control unit or transformer near the rooflight. From there, a low-voltage lead runs to the motor. The cable is hidden in the ceiling void or in the wall beside the opening. In a new extension, this is easy, because the ceiling is open while the build is under way and the cable can be run before the plasterboard goes up. In an existing room, a cable has to be chased in or routed through a void, which takes planning but is perfectly workable.

The mains side of this work is electrical installation in a dwelling, which falls under Part P of the Building Regulations. Our page on when an electrician is needed for these units explains who does what, and why the answer matters for your paperwork.

Battery or solar supply

Some units run from a battery pack charged by a small solar panel, with no cable at all. These are useful where wiring would mean opening up a finished ceiling. They have limits, because the panel must see daylight and the battery has finite capacity. We have written about the trade-offs on the page about solar-powered opening rooflights.

Controls on the wall, the remote and the phone

The control can be as simple as a wall switch. It can be a handheld remote that sticks to the wall with a bracket. Many units also link to a smart home hub, so you can open the glass from an app, set a schedule, or tie it to a temperature sensor. A wall switch is the most dependable, because nothing needs charging or pairing. The remote adds convenience. The app adds flexibility, and also something more to maintain. We usually suggest a wall switch as the baseline, with extras on top if you want them.

Where the motor sits

On a roof window, the motor is built into the frame or sits in a housing beside the sash, and you can see only a small slim cover. On a flat rooflight, the actuator sits inside the upstand or beneath the opening light, and a chain or spindle pushes the glass up. Either way, the motor must be matched to the weight of the glass. A heavy double glazed or triple glazed unit needs a stronger drive than a light polycarbonate dome, and a motor sized for the wrong weight wears out early.

When we measure the opening during the survey, we note the weight of the glazing you have chosen and make sure the drive is rated for it. A small point, but it decides whether the unit still works smoothly in ten years.

Callout 3

Glass, rain sensors and what happens in weather

The opening part of a rooflight is the glazing itself. When it is shut, it has to keep out water, cold and draughts just as well as a fixed unit. When it is open, it has to shed rain away from the room. Electric opening adds sensors and a motor, but the basics of good glazing do not change.

Double glazing and triple glazing

A modern rooflight is double glazed as a baseline, with a sealed unit, a low-emissivity coating and a warm spacer bar. Triple glazing adds a third pane and gives a better U-value, at the cost of weight. Weight matters for a motorised unit, because the motor has to lift it. That is why the glazing and the drive are chosen together. If you are weighing the options, our energy efficient rooflights page explains what the numbers mean in a real room.

The rain sensor

A rain sensor is a small plate on the outside of the rooflight, or on the roof close to it. It detects moisture and tells the control unit to close the glass. The sensor does not replace good weatherproofing. It is there for the afternoon when you leave the window ajar and a shower arrives. Without it, a motorised rooflight left open is no better than a manual one, and arguably worse, because you are less likely to notice it from across the house.

What the rooflight does when rain starts

The sensor gets wet
Moisture on the plate is read within seconds, even from a light shower.
The control unit acts
It sends the close signal to the motor, whatever you set earlier.
The glass lowers
The sash seats onto its seal and the room is weathertight again.
The sensor dries
Most controls wait for you to reopen it, rather than doing so themselves.

We think a rain sensor is worth having on every electric opening unit, for that reason. If you want to know how it behaves in practice, how fast it responds, and what to do if it fails, read our page on rain sensors and controls.

Condensation and the unit that will not close

Opening a rooflight is one of the best ways to clear condensation from a bathroom or kitchen. But if you find condensation inside the sealed unit, between the panes, that is a failed seal and not a ventilation problem. A misted unit is beyond repair and needs a replacement; see our guide to misted rooflight replacement for how that works.

Safe when open

An open rooflight on a house is a hole in the roof, and children and pets live in houses. Electric units can be set to open only partly, which gives you ventilation without a gap large enough for a child to climb through. Some controls include a lock-out for this reason. On the roof side, fall protection matters when anyone has to work near the opening, which is part of how we plan the day on site.

Quiet, and slow on purpose

A good motor is not a noisy one. The glass should lift smoothly and stop at the position you set. If you have a rooflight above a bed, check how it sounds in the showroom or ask us to describe the model. A grinding motor over a bedroom wakes people.

Rain sensors do not replace good weatherproofing. They cover the afternoon you forgot.

Callout 4

Fitting it into the roof: frame, kerb and flashings

Where a rooflight meets the roof is where water gets in if the work is poor. An electric unit does not change that rule. It adds a cable and a control, and both of them have to pass through the roof build-up without leaving a gap.

Pitched roofs

On a pitched roof, an electric roof window is fitted between the rafters and flashed into the tiles or slates. The flashing kit is made for that model of window and the roof covering you have. Leaving it out, or substituting parts, is the most common source of leaks around rooflights of any kind. The cable for the motor enters from the underside, through the lining that finishes the opening, so nothing wiring-related passes through the weatherproof layer at the top.

A VELUX electric roof window is one example of this approach, and it is the one most people have heard of. Other manufacturers make comparable products, and a bespoke unit can be made where the roof opening is an unusual size. We explain the choices on our VELUX windows and roof windows pages.

What gets measured before the order

Opening in the roof: width and length, between rafters or kerb
Roof pitch: decides the flashing kit and the sash angle
Ceiling height: affects the switch position and the light well
Cable route: from the nearest supply to the control unit
Glazing weight: so the motor is rated for the sash

Flat roofs

On a flat roof, a rooflight sits on a kerb or upstand. The kerb is a short box, built up from timber or supplied in GRP or insulated aluminium, and it lifts the glass above the roof surface so water runs past it rather than into it. The kerb is waterproofed into the roof membrane, and the rooflight sits over it. If the rooflight opens, the motor sits inside the kerb or within the frame and its cable runs down the inside face of the upstand. For more on how those kerbs are built, see flat roof rooflights.

One detail deserves attention on a flat roof. The roof must have a fall, a slight slope to move water to the gutter. If the roof is flat as a table, rainwater will pool next to the kerb and, over time, work into the junction. A motorised rooflight needs a dry junction more than a fixed one does, because moving parts and standing water are a poor combination.

Roof lanterns and pyramid rooflights

A roof lantern is a glazed roof with ridge and hips, usually fitted to an extension or an orangery. Electric opening is possible, normally in the form of one or more vents set into the glazing. A pyramid or dome rooflight is a smaller version, and the whole dome can lift on a motor. The same principle applies to both. The opening part has to seat onto a seal that is under compression when it shuts. If it cannot, the gaps let in draughts, noise and rain.

The seal that matters most

With any opening rooflight, the gasket where the sash meets the frame is the weak point. A motorised unit presses the sash down with a defined force, and the seal is compressed evenly all the way round. A manual catch can leave one side looser than the other. In that respect, the motor does a more consistent job than your hand.

Callout 5

Building Regulations, planning and the paperwork

People are sometimes surprised that putting a skylight in a roof comes with paperwork. It does, and for good reasons. The roof is a structural and weatherproof part of the building, and what goes through it affects the whole house.

Building Regulations

Cutting a fresh opening through rafters or a flat deck changes the structure, so it counts as building work. Approval comes from Derby City Council's building control team, or from a registered building control approver (the name in use since April 2024). Where the work is notifiable, we take care of the Building Control notification for you.

Swapping an old unit for a new one in the same hole counts as a controlled fitting, so Part L applies and the new glazing has to hit the energy standard. A competent person scheme lets the installer self-certify a swap like that. Making the new unit electric does not relax the thermal limits.

The thermal limits

Approved Document L (2021), Table 4.2, sets the targets for existing homes. For a roof window the ceiling is 1.4 W/m²K, with Window Energy Rating band B as the alternative route. Rooflights, lanterns included, are allowed 2.2 W/m²K. A good unit comfortably beats these maximums, and we check the unit in your quote against the right line before ordering.

What decides the figure on your quote

Size of the openingLarger sashes need stronger drives, bigger glass and more trimming.
Glazing specificationExtra panes and special coatings change what the unit costs.
Cable routeA clear run is simple. A long or hidden run takes more time.
Roof coveringSlate and handmade tile need more careful flashing than machine tile.
Access and heightScaffold or a tower adds to the setup on taller houses.
ControlsA wall switch is the baseline. Remotes, sensors and app links add to it.

Electrical work

The cable for the motor is electrical work in a home. Part P of the Building Regulations covers new electrical installations in dwellings, and the supply to the control unit must be installed and certified properly. Our guide on when an electrician is needed for these units covers what is needed for different set-ups, including the low-voltage lead from the transformer to the motor.

Means of escape

In a loft bedroom, the opening is a safety matter as well as a comfort one. Approved Document B only lets a roof window serve as an escape route when the room sits no higher than 4.5 m above the ground. On a two-storey house, a loft conversion therefore relies on a protected stair instead. A bungalow or chalet bungalow can use a roof window for its roof rooms, inside that height. To qualify, the clear opening must reach 0.33 m² with no side under 450 mm.

For escape purposes, think about what happens in a power cut. An escape window must open by hand. Our page on what happens to an electric rooflight in a power cut explains how the manual override works.

Planning permission

Most house rooflights are covered by permitted development, which comes with conditions described in our planning guide. A flat or maisonette has no householder rights of that kind. Listed status brings a separate consent requirement for nearly any change. Should the property fall inside a conservation area, those rights may have been withdrawn by an Article 4 direction, so ask the council before you order. A motor changes nothing about the planning position, because planning looks at the outside of the roof, and the rooflight looks the same.

Roofing and the cover

Whether the roof is tile, slate, felt, EPDM or a GRP finish, the rooflight is flashed or upstanded into it. The firm that fits the unit is responsible for the junction. Our work carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing.

Planning looks at the outside of the roof. A motor lives inside it, so the permission question does not change.

Callout 6

The light well, the ceiling and living with it

Most of the pleasure of a rooflight is felt indoors. Natural light falls on the floor, the walls and the surface you work at. The finish of the opening, called the light well or lining, decides how that light spreads and how the unit looks from below.

The light well

If the roof is thick, the opening in the ceiling is connected to the glass by a tunnel of plasterboard or lining. That tunnel can be square, which gives a hard-edged shaft of light, or splayed, which spreads the daylight wider. A white matt finish bounces light further than a dark one. If you have a thick insulated roof, the splay makes a clear difference. Our surveyor will sketch it with you, which is easier than describing it.

Fitting it in a loft conversion

A loft conversion is where electric opening roof windows most often make sense, because the windows sit high on the slope and bed heads or desks sit underneath. A manual roof window above a desk can be reached by a pole, but it is awkward. An electric one opens at the press of a button on the desk. Because a loft room is warmest at the top, ventilation matters more here than anywhere. We say more in our page about roof windows for loft conversions.

Extensions and kitchens

A single-storey kitchen extension on a flat roof often has a large rooflight or a roof lantern above the dining table. A motorised vent lets steam and cooking smells out and lets cooler air in, and the room does not need a window opened at ground level. Placing the opening above the hob or the island, rather than centred in the room, gives the best result. The glass still lands daylight where you work, and the opening part works where the heat is.

Bedrooms and bathrooms

In a bedroom, a rooflight over the bed is a pleasure on a warm night, and a sensor that closes it if rain comes means you can sleep. In a bathroom, a rooflight over the basin or the shower helps clear steam, so condensation does not gather on walls and mirrors. The best ventilation is the kind you actually use, and a motor makes that easy. Our guide to using an opening rooflight to ventilate a room shows how to get the most from the airflow.

Blinds and shading

A south-facing rooflight can warm a room in summer. A blind keeps the heat down, and electric blinds can be linked to the same remote as the opening glass. If a room gets too warm, open the glass first and close the blind second, because moving hot air out matters more than blocking sun.

Residential first, commercial welcome

We fit electric opening rooflights in homes first. Small commercial jobs, such as a shop back room, an office or a workshop, are also welcome, and the same survey and quote process applies. Derby and about 30 road miles around it are covered, by road.

Wall switch or smart control

Wall switch

Works with no app or charging
Simple for every member of the household
Fixed position, so one place only

Smart control

Open from anywhere in the house
Schedules and temperature triggers
Needs pairing and occasional updates
Falls back to the wall switch

Before you choose a motor

Can an electric rooflight be fitted into an existing roof?

Yes. A new rooflight can be cut into a pitched or flat roof, and an existing manual one can be replaced with an electric unit. The cable is the main question. In a finished room, we look at where it can run during the free survey, and we agree the route before quoting. You can start with the survey form.

Do electric opening rooflights leak more than fixed ones?

A well-fitted opening rooflight is weatherproof when shut. The seal where the sash meets the frame does the work, and the motor presses the sash down evenly. Leaks usually come from poor flashing or a flat roof without a fall, not from the motor itself. That is why we spend the time on the roof junction.

Will it still open if the power fails?

It depends on the model. Many units have a manual override, or a battery backup that finishes one open or close cycle. We explain the options on our page about power cuts and electric rooflights, and we tell you which your quote includes.

Is a solar-powered rooflight as good as a wired one?

A solar unit avoids cabling, which helps in a finished room. It relies on daylight reaching the panel and on a battery that can lose capacity. A wired unit is more consistent. Read our view on solar-powered opening rooflights before you decide.

Do I need to be in when the survey takes place?

It helps, because we start from the spot in the room that you want lit. We measure the roof opening, the ceiling and the cable route, and we talk through glazing and controls. Nothing is priced until every part of the job has been seen. The written quote is fixed and stays the same when we arrive.

How long does a fitting take?

A straightforward single rooflight usually means one or two days of roof work. A wiring run inside the house and the finishing of the light well come on top of that, and we agree the timing with you at the survey. Several windows or a large lantern take longer, and the quote spells that out.

Book your free survey

Where do you want the light? Tell us in the form: the worktop, the stair, the desk.

No obligation. We survey before we price.
We cover Derby and 30 miles around.