Commercial Daylighting: VELUX Dome Skylights on a Warren Building

A large commercial building has a daylighting problem a house never faces: its floor is so deep that windows around the walls light only the edges, leaving the whole center of the space to electric lighting. The answer comes from the roof. This Warren commercial building got a row of VELUX Dynamic Dome skylights set into its low-slope roof, bringing daylight down into the middle of the floor.

A Warren commercial building received a row of VELUX Dynamic Dome skylights installed into its low-slope roof, daylighting the deep interior of the building where wall windows cannot reach. This project is in Warren, Rhode Island using VELUX Dynamic Dome skylights.

Scope of Work

The project set a series of dome skylights into the building’s low-slope commercial roof. Each VELUX Dynamic Dome unit was mounted on a curb that raises it above the membrane — essential on a flat roof, where water drains slowly — and the roofing membrane was flashed up each curb so water is carried around the unit and off the roof. Spaced in a row across the roof, the domes drop daylight evenly into the interior below, reaching the deep center of the floor that perimeter windows leave dark. On a commercial building, that even overhead daylight is both a comfort and an operating-cost improvement, cutting the electric lighting the space would otherwise run all day.

What We Installed (And Why)

Commercial daylighting is a different problem than residential, and dome skylights are the tool built for it. A big building — a shop, warehouse, studio, or store — has a deep floor plate, and windows in the exterior walls only light a band around the perimeter; step into the middle of the space and the daylight is gone, so the lights run all day. Roof skylights solve this by bringing daylight straight down into the center, and on a low-slope commercial roof the right unit is a curb-mounted dome like the VELUX Dynamic Dome. The dome shape gathers and diffuses light from across the sky and spreads it into the space below, and mounting each unit on a raised curb lifts the skylight above the plane of the flat roof so water — which drains slowly on a low slope and can pond — stays below the glazing rather than against it. The roofing membrane is then flashed up the sides of each curb so it ties into the skylight as one waterproof detail. Set in a row, the domes deliver even, glare-controlled daylight across the whole floor, which does two things a commercial operator cares about: it makes the space more pleasant and productive to work in, and it cuts the cost of running electric lights through the day, often substantially. It also has to be done watertight, because a leak over a commercial floor means damaged inventory or downtime, not just an inconvenience — which is why the curb height and the membrane-to-curb flashing are the details that matter most. On this Warren building, a row of VELUX dome skylights turned a deep, lamp-lit interior into a daylit one.

Project Photo Gallery

A row of VELUX dome skylights daylighting the Warren commercial building

Dome skylights across the low-slope commercial roof

A curb-mounted VELUX dome skylight

Good To Know: How do skylights work for a commercial building?

They solve the central problem of lighting a large, deep interior: perimeter windows only light the edges, so the middle of a big floor plate depends on electric lighting all day. Roof skylights bring daylight straight down into that center, and on the low-slope roofs most commercial buildings have, the right unit is a curb-mounted dome skylight like the VELUX Dynamic Dome. The dome gathers light from across the sky and diffuses it evenly into the space below, and a row of them spreads that daylight across the whole floor rather than in isolated spots. Mounting each on a raised curb is essential on a flat roof, because water drains slowly there and can pond; the curb lifts the glazing above the water, and the roofing membrane is flashed up the curb so the skylight ties into the roof as one waterproof detail. For a commercial operator, the payoff is twofold. First, better light: even overhead daylight makes a space more comfortable and productive to work in than a floor lit only by fixtures. Second, lower operating cost: daylight coming through the roof means the electric lights can be dimmed or shut off for much of the day, which on a large building adds up to real savings. The one non-negotiable is that it be watertight, because a leak over a commercial floor damages inventory or interrupts operations — so the curb height and membrane flashing have to be right. On this Warren building, a row of dome skylights did exactly this: daylight into the deep interior, and less reliance on the lights.

Why This Approach Works

A large commercial building’s deep floor plate leaves its center dark, because wall windows only light the perimeter. A row of curb-mounted dome skylights brings daylight straight down into that center, improving the space and cutting lighting cost — with the curb and membrane flashing keeping the low-slope roof watertight.

Why Pinnacle

Commercial skylight work rewards a contractor who understands both daylighting a deep floor plate and flashing dome units into a low-slope roof so the building stays dry. Pinnacle installs as a VELUX 5-Star Skylight Specialist and commercial roofing contractor, to the manufacturer’s specification. We’ve served Rhode Island since 2012, hold a 5.0-star Google rating across 100+ reviews and an A+ BBB rating — see our full credentials.

Warren, Rhode Island

Warren is a historic waterfront town at the head of the Bay, its village lined with the older commercial and mill buildings that give the town its character — many with the deep floor plates and low-slope roofs that reward commercial daylighting. VELUX dome skylights set into a low-slope roof suit Warren’s commercial buildings and the businesses inside them. Explore our work across Warren roofing services.