Choose manual if the rooflight is within easy reach and you are happy to open it by hand. Choose electric if it sits out of reach, over a stairwell or a kitchen island, or if you want it to open and close on a switch, a sensor or a timer. Both let air out and daylight in. The difference is how the sash gets from shut to open, who can do it, and what has to be wired in behind the plaster.
That last point matters more than it sounds. An electric opener needs a cable to the rooflight, a place for the control and a plan for the ceiling around it, and all of that is easier to arrange before the lining is formed than after. The electric vs manual rooflight choice is best made room by room. This page compares the two, then covers reach, cost drivers, wiring, power cuts and safety, so you can decide before the survey.
How each kind of opening rooflight works
A manual rooflight opens by hand, through a handle, a pole, a winder or a spring-assisted catch. The mechanism is simple and sits mostly in the frame. A roof window has a handle on the sash that you pull or turn. A flat-roof glass rooflight can have a hinged lid with a gas strut or a screw-type winder, driven by a long pole with a hook or a crank on the end.
An electric rooflight uses a motor to move the sash. On a flat rooflight it is typically a chain or spindle actuator fixed to the upstand or the frame, pushing the lid open and pulling it shut. On a roof window the motor sits inside the frame and is hidden. Power comes from the mains through a low-voltage driver, or from a battery or solar panel, and the control is a wall switch, a handheld remote, an app or a sensor. We cover the power-free route in solar-powered rooflights and windows.
Both types close against a weather seal and a gasket, and both are made in versions with double or triple glazing, so the thermal performance of the glass itself does not depend on how the sash moves. What differs is the convenience, the wiring and the long-term care.
Reach decides more than preference does
The practical test is whether you can open it without stretching. A roof window over a bed or a desk is easy to reach and a handle is perfectly good. A lantern or flat rooflight in an extension ceiling is a different story. At 2.4m or more, a pole is the only way to reach it, and a pole means standing at arm's length from a heavy sash and guiding it open at an angle.
Think about who will use it. A pole is fine for most adults and awkward for anyone with limited strength or mobility, for children, and for guests who do not know the house. If you would otherwise leave a rooflight shut for months because opening it is a chore, a motor fixes a real problem. A rooflight that stays shut does nothing for ventilation, however well it was specified.
There is also the question of what sits underneath. A manual rooflight over a stair, a worktop or a dining table is awkward to open from a ladder, and that is exactly where people give up. Where a stair or an island is directly below, we lean towards electric, and say so in the survey notes.
Comparing the two side by side
| Point | Manual | Electric |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Handle, pole, winder or gas strut | Motor, chain or spindle, from a switch, remote or sensor |
| Wiring | None | A supply to the rooflight and to the control |
| Out of reach | Needs a pole, and some effort | Works from a switch at wall height |
| Rain and timers | Closed by hand | Can close on a rain sensor or a schedule |
| Power cut | Unaffected | Depends on the model: some have a manual release or battery back-up |
| Servicing | Little beyond seals and hinges | Motor and controls add parts that can wear |
| Upfront cost | Lower | Higher: the unit, the control and the electrical work |
No column wins on every row. If you can reach the rooflight, a manual one is cheaper and has less to go wrong. If you cannot, the motor earns its cost. A mixed approach is common: a manual window in a bedroom, an electric lantern over the kitchen, each chosen for its place.
What drives the price of electric
An electric rooflight costs more than the same rooflight in manual form, and the gap has several parts. The actuator or motor is one. The control is another, whether that is a simple switch, a remote or a smart controller. A rain sensor adds a part and a place to mount it. The electrical work itself, a cable run from a fused spur or a driver to the rooflight, is the part that varies most, depending on how far the nearest supply is and how much of the house has to be opened up to reach it.
That last cost is where finishing comes in. In a house with a flat ceiling and a cold loft above, a cable can be dropped in the void without touching the plaster. In a lath and plaster ceiling in a Georgian terrace, or a room with a finished extension ceiling and no void, the cable path has to be planned so the plaster is not cut for it. We settle that at survey, and the route goes on the finish schedule, so nobody discovers a chase in a freshly painted wall.
We do not give figures for individual products here, because the price comes from the survey. Our costs page sets out what drives the total, and the quote shows each part separately.
Wiring, the electrician and where the control goes
Electric rooflights run from the mains, usually through a transformer or driver that steps the supply down to a low voltage for the motor. The wiring has to be done safely and to the rules for fixed installations, which in a home means Part P of the Building Regulations for electrical safety in dwellings. Some of the work is notifiable, some is not, and it depends on what is being added to which circuit. The answer to whether electric rooflights need an electrician goes through who does what.
The control is worth thinking about early. A wall switch near the room door is plain and reliable. A handheld remote is easy and gets lost. A smart controller lets you open the rooflight by app or by voice and ties it to a schedule, which is useful for night purge cooling in summer. If that appeals, read whether electric rooflights can link to a smart home system before you buy, because compatibility varies between makers.
Where the switch goes is a design decision as much as a wiring one. Placed beside a light switch it looks deliberate. Placed halfway up a wall it looks like an afterthought, and a face plate set into fresh plaster is tidier than one added later. We mark the position on the survey so the plasterer and the electrician work to the same drawing.
Rain, heat and what the sensors do
One real advantage of electric is that it can act while you are out. A rain sensor closes the sash at the first drops, and a timer or temperature controller can open it to vent a hot room in the evening. Manual rooflights depend on someone being home.
That advantage should not be oversold. Sensors need to be positioned where they register rain, they can be tripped by dew or a light shower, and they work only as long as the power does. If you want to leave a room ventilated while you are away, think about security too, and about whether an open rooflight over a sealed interior is something you are comfortable with. The details of how sensors work are in rain sensors and automatic closing on rooflights.
For ventilation more broadly, opening rooflights can contribute to purge ventilation under Part F, and the position of the opening matters as much as its type. Warm air rises and leaves through a high opening while cooler air comes in lower down, so a rooflight high in a ceiling is well placed. There is more on this in our guide to opening rooflights for ventilation and cooling.
Power cuts and manual override
An electric rooflight that is open when the power fails should not stay open. Some models hold their last position, some have a battery that closes the sash, and some have a manual release that lets you wind or push the sash shut. Which applies depends on the make and the model, and it is a question to ask before you order. Our answer on what happens to an electric rooflight in a power cut explains the common arrangements.
It is worth asking too where the release is. A manual override that needs a ladder and a special key is not much use at ten at night in a storm. A handle you can reach from the floor is. Where the release is out of reach, we note it on the specification, so you know the position before the installation, not after the first outage.
Safety, children and the finish around the sash
A motor moves a heavy sash with real force. Good actuators stop when they meet resistance, and the maker's instructions set out the clearances needed so that fingers, cables and blind cords are not in the path. Think about where a blind sits relative to the opening sash, and where a child could reach a switch. Some controls can be locked or placed high.
Glazing matters here too. Overhead glass in a family room is more comfortable with a laminated inner pane, which holds together if it breaks. That is good practice and industry guidance, not a Part K requirement, and our electric opening rooflights page covers the glass choices that go with an opener.
Then there is the finish. A rooflight that opens needs a lining that does not obstruct it, so the lining, the blind box and any trim around the opening are planned around the swing of the sash. A lining that is splayed wider at the ceiling gives the sash room and spreads light, but only if it was formed with the opening angle in mind. Get this wrong and the sash hits the plaster. Our guide to how a rooflight is finished inside explains the lining, and the finish schedule records how it is formed for your opening.
Servicing and long-term upkeep
A manual opening skylight has few parts to wear: the seals, the hinges and the catch or strut. A few drops of oil on a hinge and a wipe of the seals once a year is about the extent of it. A gas strut loses pressure over the years and is replaced like any other part.
An electric rooflight has those same parts plus a motor, a driver and a control, and any of them can fail independently. Most are designed to be replaced without touching the glass, but that depends on being able to reach the part. This is another reason to plan the access at the start. A driver tucked behind a fixed board with no hatch is a problem in ten years, and a small access panel in the lining or the loft costs little to form now.
Whichever you choose, keep the manufacturer's instructions with the house papers, and note the make and model on your finish schedule copy, so a future owner knows what is in the ceiling.
A short way to decide
Run through these questions for each rooflight rather than for the house as a whole.
- Can you reach it from the floor, without a pole, and without a stair or worktop in the way?
- Will it be opened daily for ventilation, or only now and then?
- Do you want it to close itself in rain, or open itself to cool the room?
- Is there a supply nearby, or a loft void to run a cable in, without cutting the ceiling?
- Who will use it, and can everyone reach the control?
If the answers point to manual for one room and electric for another, that is a sensible result, not a compromise. Already have a manual rooflight and wondering about a motor? That is a different question, covered in whether an existing rooflight can be made electric.
When you are ready, ask for a quote. At survey we look at the roof, the ceiling and the nearest supply, and the written quote comes with a finish schedule that says how the opening, the lining and the cable route will be dealt with.