If you want to minimize light why a skylight at all. If you are asking about the trim go white to disappear if you have white ceilings.

I agree with Patricia, why have the skylight at all if your goal is to reduce heat and light. But go for white so that it visually disappears.

Thank you both. The house already had the skylights in when I bought and I need to replace because of cracks. I checked with my roofing guy and he said it would be very expensive to replace them with roofing/stucco. So it seems I must replace them and need to choose which tint it comes in: bronze, gray, (which both reduce heat but will affect the coloring of light coming in my house) or white or clear glass. Clear doesnt reduce the heat and I live in CA where its very hot in summer.

"I checked with my roofing guy and he said it would be very expensive to replace them with roofing/stucco."

White rubberized "paint" ($80 a gallon), applied over the entire skylight, will solve the leakage issue and give you time to better consider your options.

Thank you so much M. Miller! It's so hard to get these contractors to explain anything. this article helped a lot!

I'm facing a similar choice--smoked bronze or opaque white skylights. I'm worried that the white will be too bright with a blue tone (south facing in southern AZ) while the bronze will make everything look dingy. Michelle, did you make a choice? Any other guidelines folks can offer? Thanks.

Hi I'm 95% sure that I'm going with the clear Veluz glass with the UV protection and heat reduction glass (see articles posted above). The reason is bc I'm scared of any weird color tints from the bronze and gray, and like you worried the white glass will be too bright.

If after installing the clear, I'm getting too much light and/or heat, I'll install white blackout shades on them to blend in with my white ceiling.

Ps my roof person told me I currently have bronze skylights which are original to the house built in 1990. I never noticed a weird tint in my house, per se (my paint colors are white paints Sherwin William's High Reflective White on ceiling and trim and pale gray - sherwin William's Snowbound) but I have always wondered why with such bright paint colors why my colors look so dingy. Maybe that is why (or maybe its bc of my darker floors).

Hope that helps! But definitely check out the above articles on the Velux glass.

Hey Michelle, I’m facing the same skylight replacement decision. Did you ever make a choice and were you happy with the replacement? I have clear glass now but it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I prefer to go with clear, but need heat reduction for sure.

In this thread, clear and Loe are being used interchangeably. In your situation, request the Loe 366 (or something similar as it depends on the glass manufacturer). From the interior looking up at the skylight, it will appear "clear" and will give you both heat and uv protection. In many areas this is code.

Chiming in here. I have a white skylight in my bathroom that faces North. I just had the bathroom remodeled and the floor tile that looked more neutral beige in the showroom and in direct light outside, has a blue cast to it in the bathroom. Part of me wants to rip it out and start over, but I also installed a heated floor under the tile. I'm wondering if the bronze tinted skylight would warm up the light coming into the bathroom. Given that our current skylight is getting old, I would be open to a change. Anyone have any thoughts regarding this fix? I don't want to go from bad to worse.

Kathi I can’t help you, I’ve only ever installed the standard clear glass that Velux offers.

@Kathi Martinez - I don't think that a bronze tinted skylight will be a good idea at all. Plus, what happens at night when it doesn't matter what tint the skylight has? Your tile will still not look right. It could be the paint color on your walls. I suggest you post on the Houzz Home Decorating and Houzz Bathrooms forums. But they will definitely want pics of your bathroom in order to give you the best advice.