Short answer
An electric rooflight costs more than a fixed one because of the motor, the controls, the rain sensor and the cable run, and the total moves with the wiring route and the electrician's time. As a broad guide, typical UK market figures run from about £2,000 to £4,500, a starting point, not our prices. The written quote follows the survey and sets out each part.
What makes up the electric rooflight cost
A fixed rooflight is a frame and a sealed glass unit. An electric one adds an actuator that raises the lid, a control to operate it, usually a rain sensor, and a mains or low-voltage supply. Each of those is a separate item, and each has choices that move the total. That is why a single fixed figure for an electric skylight cost rarely means much.
Typical UK market figures for an electric rooflight sit between £2,000 and £4,500, given only as a guide to the scale, and never as our prices. That wide span reflects the size of the opening, the glass specification and everything that sits around the unit. The costs page, what rooflights cost, sets all the product ranges side by side so you can compare.
The motor and the way the lid opens
The actuator is the heart of the unit. A single-arm motor lifting a small lid is simpler than twin actuators moving a large, heavy sash, and a sliding rooflight uses a track and drive instead. Bigger glass is heavier, so the motor is rated for the load, and the frame is built to carry it.
The opening style is the first choice, and the guide to electric and manual rooflights helps decide whether a motor is worth having at all. A manual opener on a hard-to-reach roof is not much use, which is often the reason people choose electric.
Size drives the motor more than anything. A small lid needs one modest actuator, while a wide, heavy double-glazed sash needs a stronger drive and a stiffer frame to carry it. Triple glazing and laminated panes add weight, so the glass choice and the motor choice are made together at the survey and set out as separate lines in the quote.
Controls, sensors and the control position
The simplest control is a wall keypad. A remote handset, a smartphone link or a connection to a home system adds to the price. A rain sensor on the frame closes the unit when rain starts, and a wind or temperature input can be added on some models. These are options, and each one has a part cost and some set-up time.
Where the control sits matters too. A keypad beside the room door needs a cable run to the wall; a remote needs only a receiver. The control type and its position are named in the written plan, so the switch is never a decision made on the fitting day.
Think about who will use it. A keypad at adult height suits a kitchen; a handset suits a landing where nobody wants to climb steps to reach a wall. Households with children sometimes prefer a lockable control, and a sensor that closes the unit automatically avoids reliance on anyone remembering.
- Wall keypad, remote handset or app control
- Rain sensor on the frame
- Optional wind or temperature input where the model supports it
- Control position and the cable run to it
The wiring route and electrician time
Electric means a supply. The cable has to run from a power source to the rooflight, and the route decides much of the labour. A short run in an accessible loft is simple. A run through a finished ceiling, a long distance across a house, or a link to the consumer unit takes longer, and some may mean lifting boards or chasing plaster.
The electrical work is done by a qualified electrician and must meet the electrical rules for the property. The detail of the supply is covered in the answer on how an electric rooflight is wired. Because the wiring route is specific to the house, it is seen on the survey and priced in the written quote, not estimated from a photograph.
A common follow-up is whether the electrician can be the householder's own. The survey settles it, because the supply route, the position of the consumer unit and the state of the existing circuits all affect the work. Where the cable has to cross a finished ceiling or a boarded loft, the route is agreed in advance so that the plasterer and the decorator are not called back afterwards.
Other items that change the total
The roof itself adds items that apply to any rooflight: the kerb or upstand, the size of the opening, whether the rafters or joists need to be trimmed, scaffold, and the Building Control notification, which we handle where the work is notifiable. A power cut should also be planned for, and the answer on what happens in a power cut explains the manual override.
Glass is the other lever. A higher thermal specification, a solar control coating or a laminated inner pane all raise the price of the unit. Asking costs nothing: the free survey ends in a written quote that lists each item, so you can see what drives the figure before any money is requested for the work.
Timing is a smaller factor. Motorised frames are built after the order, so the wait for delivery runs longer than for a stock item, and the fitting is booked once the delivery date is firm. The electrician's visit is slotted around the roof work so the first-fix cable is in before the unit goes on, and the final connection and test follow once it is seated.
How the quote shows it
The quote separates the unit, the motor and controls, the electrical work, the roof work and any access or scaffold. Beside it sits the written plan, which fixes the size, the cable route, what the council needs to say, the notification, the delivery wait and the date. Each line can be read on its own, so a change to one part, say a simpler control, shows its effect on the total.
To see what the job involves on the roof, see the electric opening rooflight installation service page.