Skylight and Sun Tunnel Upsell: $500 to $2,000 Margin Per Unit

Skylights are the kind of upsell that transforms a dark hallway or dim bathroom in one day, adds natural light, and shows up every time the homeowner walks into the room. When your crew is already on the roof, the cost of adding a skylight is a fraction of a standalone install. The math works. You just have to propose it. Most roofers never do.

When a Skylight Is the Right Sell

Do not pitch skylights on every house. Qualify first. The homes where skylights make sense:

• Single-story homes or vaulted-ceiling rooms
• Dark interior rooms (bathrooms, hallways, laundry, kitchens)
• North-facing or shaded rooms that lack natural light
• Finished attic bedrooms or bonus rooms
• Open-concept homes with dark central areas

Where skylights are a bad sell:

• Rooms with good natural light already
• Hot climates where solar gain is a concern (use skylights with shades)
• Multi-story homes where the skylight would require a 20-foot light shaft
• Rooms directly below a bedroom (privacy issues with above-bed light)

Skylight Types

Fixed Deck-Mount Skylight

Does not open. Lowest cost. Good for vaulted ceilings and non-ventilated applications.

• Material cost: $400 to $900 per unit
• Install labor: $300 to $600 per unit
• Retail: $1,100 to $2,200 installed
• Gross margin: $400 to $900 per unit (45 to 55 percent)

Manual Venting Skylight

Opens with a pole or hand crank. Good for bathrooms and kitchens where humidity removal helps.

• Material cost: $600 to $1,200 per unit
• Install labor: $400 to $700 per unit
• Retail: $1,600 to $2,800 installed
• Gross margin: $600 to $1,100 per unit (45 to 55 percent)

Electric or Solar Venting Skylight

VELUX Solar Powered or Electric. Opens with remote. Rain sensor closes automatically. Qualifies for federal solar tax credit when solar-powered.

• Material cost: $900 to $1,800 per unit
• Install labor: $500 to $900 per unit
• Retail: $2,200 to $3,800 installed
• Gross margin: $800 to $1,500 per unit (45 to 55 percent)
• Federal tax credit: 30 percent of skylight + install cost for solar-powered

Sun Tunnels (Solar Tubes)

Sun tunnels are a lower-cost alternative to skylights for dark hallways and small rooms. A dome on the roof feeds light through a flexible reflective tube to a ceiling diffuser.

• Material cost: $250 to $500 per unit
• Install labor: $200 to $400 per unit
• Retail: $700 to $1,400 installed
• Gross margin: $400 to $900 per unit (50 to 60 percent)

Sun tunnels do not provide ventilation and do not offer a view. They do provide dramatic natural light in dark interior spaces at 30 to 40 percent of skylight cost.

The VELUX Partnership

VELUX is the dominant skylight brand in the US. They have a certified installer program (5-star installer, 5-year warranty installer, etc.) that provides:

• Training on VELUX products and installation
• Marketing materials and proposal templates
• Extended workmanship warranties (backed by VELUX when installer meets standards)
• Referral traffic from VELUX website
• Rebates and volume discounts

Cost to become certified: $0 to $500 depending on the tier. Time investment: 8 to 24 hours of training. Well worth it for any roofer doing more than 10 skylights per year.

Attach Rate and Pitch

With active presentation, skylight attach rate is 8 to 15 percent on residential re-roofs. Without presentation, 0.5 to 2 percent.

The Pitch

During your walkthrough, identify 1 or 2 dark rooms. Point them out: "This bathroom has no window and the vent fan is doing all the work. A solar-vented skylight here would give you natural light plus automatic humidity control. We can add it during the roof install for $2,600 with a 30 percent federal tax credit if we go solar-powered. Would you like me to add it to the proposal as an option?"

Low-pressure, specific to their home, with a clear tax incentive. Closing rate: 20 to 35 percent of those who hear the pitch.

Installation Best Practices

1. Frame the opening correctly. Standard VELUX deck-mount sizes: 22.5 x 22.5, 30.5 x 30.5, 22.5 x 46.75, and larger. Frame the rough opening to the manufacturer spec with doubled rafters and headers.
2. Step flashing kit. Use the VELUX or manufacturer flashing kit, not site-built flashing. Factory kits are warranted; site-built flashing voids the warranty.
3. Integrate with shingles and ice dam membrane. Ice and water shield under the full flashing area, above and below.
4. Test the unit before closing interior. Operate the skylight, check rain sensor if electric, verify seal around frame.
5. Finish the interior shaft. If the ceiling is below the attic, frame and drywall the light shaft. This is usually a separate scope billed to the customer.

Shade Accessories

Skylights can get hot in summer and cold in winter. Shade accessories are a secondary upsell:

• Blackout blinds: $250 to $500 per unit retail
• Light-filtering shades: $180 to $350 per unit retail
• Solar-powered shades (auto-open/close): $400 to $700 per unit retail

Gross margin on shades: 45 to 55 percent. Attach rate when offered at the time of skylight install: 35 to 55 percent.

Warranty Structure

VELUX offers:

• 10-year no-leak installation warranty (when installed per spec)
• 20-year glass warranty
• 10-year wood frame warranty
• 5-year flashing warranty

Your workmanship warranty typically runs 2 to 10 years on top of manufacturer. Match your roof workmanship warranty length to keep it simple for customers.

Track skylight attach rate in RoofKnockers by rep and by season. Reps with 12 percent+ attach rate are measurably more profitable.

Related Upsells

Skylights fit naturally with:

• Attic insulation upsell playbook (address thermal losses around the skylight)
• Gutter and gutter guard upsell (full roof finish)
• Solar-ready roof upsell (solar-powered skylights integrate with solar pre-wiring)

See RoofKnockers pricing for the tier that supports multi-line pipelines.

FAQ

Do skylights leak?

Old site-built curb-mount skylights leaked. Modern deck-mount skylights installed with factory flashing kits, over ice and water shield, rarely leak. Installed correctly, they last 20 to 30 years without issue. If they leak, it is an installation error, not a product failure.

Should I install skylights on steep roofs?

Yes, VELUX skylights work on pitches from 0 to 60 degrees. For very steep roofs, verify that the interior light shaft works with the interior layout. Steep roof + high ceiling = long light shaft.

What is the federal tax credit situation in 2027?

Solar-powered VELUX skylights and VELUX solar blinds qualify for a 30 percent federal residential clean energy credit through 2032. Manual skylights do not qualify. Always verify current IRS rules before pitching the credit.