Published: Aug 13, 2019 | Updated: Sep 26, 2023

What Are the Benefits of Natural Light in a Custom Home Design?

There are many benefits of natural light in a home that boost mental, emotional, and physical health for everyone in the family.

Finding the perfect custom home design is the holy grail for home buyers looking for their own slice of the American dream. With so many factors to think about, it can sometimes feel a bit daunting to decide what architectural style and home would be just right for you.

Today, let’s shine some light on an issue that may be easily missed - natural daylight! The best time to think about how to get plenty of natural light into your beautiful new dream home is when you are still in the designing phase.

“More and more, so it seems to me, light is the beautifier of the building.”

Frank Lloyd Wright – Architect

Why should optimized natural light be a priority in your custom house plans?

Here are just a few of the great benefits your family can enjoy when you add plenty of natural light to your home design:

Health benefits of natural light

Promotes better and longer sleep at night and a healthy circadian rhythm.
Helps promote healthy vision.
Reduce eye strain.
May improve immune system function.
Provides Vitamin D so may lower risk of heart disease and weight gain.
Helps promote strong bones.

Better mental state

Improved mood and serotonin levels compared to artificial light (especially fluorescent lighting).
Reduce stress.
May help ward off certain types of depression (especially seasonal affective disorder).
Improves work performance and productivity.
Improves satisfaction.

Greater aesthetics

Enhances the beauty in the architectural style of a building.
Brings movement, energy, and life to a space.
Connects people to the beauty and majesty of nature even when indoors.
Makes your home feel more open and airy.

Energy savings

Plenty of south facing windows can help lower heating costs in the winter and provide light.
North facing windows provide indirect light so that lightbulbs don’t need to be used during the day.
East and west facing windows provide direct light at specific times of day.
Quality skylights also bring in plenty of sunlight and can help lower lighting and heating costs.

Higher resale value

Increases the dollar value of the home.
Appeals to home buyers.

It is critical to optimize daylight so that unwanted results don’t occur. If too much direct sunlight pours into a home, there could be overheating, UV damage, and excessive glare. Your custom home builder and/or architect can help you plan your home design and orientation so that you can take the most advantage of all the amazing effects of natural light.

The right amount of sunlight and access to natural light are correlated with an increased quality of life because of health benefits, mood benefits, energy savings, and resale value.

Ways to allow increased natural lighting

There are countless ways to allow more daylight into your home from having a house with more windows, strategically positioning your home in relation to the sun, using glass doors instead of solid doors, adding skylights, using sun tubes, or building in an area that is away from other tall buildings or trees.

You can also increase the amount of natural light that enters your home by using window coverings that can be pulled back or rolled up to let in more light. And you can keep dressers and bookcases away from windows to be sure that you optimize the use of the windows you have.

Building in South Carolina

South Carolina gets plenty of sunshine all year round. An experienced custom home builder know how to help you situate your home on your lot and how to help you design your home to make the most of your home's exposure to natural light.

Let a trusted custom home builder guide you through the home building process and introduce you to design ideas that include natural light. Why not choose a floor plan and home design to maximize health, mood, and financial benefits for your family as you build your dream home?

Whatever you decide, we hope you will find the house that is just the right fit for your family at this stage in your life.