The short answer
Sometimes. Some manual VELUX roof windows can take a motorising kit, which adds an operator, a control unit and power, while others are better replaced with a window built as electric. It depends on the model, its age and what sits in the roof. Read the data plate, check current VELUX data for compatibility, and have the opening surveyed before buying a kit.
Two routes to a window that opens at the press of a button
The first route motorises what you have. The second swaps it for something made to be electric. Both end in the same place, and they differ in tidiness, cost and risk.
A conversion kit works by adding parts to an existing frame: a motor or chain operator that pushes the sash open, a control unit that takes instructions, and a way to power it. Nothing about the glass changes. The window you started with is still the window you finish with, only with a motor attached.
A new electric window replaces the whole unit with one where the operator, the wiring path and the control are designed in from the start. The installation is bigger, because the old window comes out, but the result is a single coherent product rather than a manual one with an add-on.
Which is the better answer comes down to what is wrong, if anything, with the window already there.
What decides whether a kit will work
A kit is made for particular models, so the first job is to identify yours. Four checks settle most of it.
- The model and code. The data plate on the sash edge gives the type and size. Where to find it is covered in where the data plate is on a VELUX window, and what the letters mean is in how to read a VELUX size code.
- The age of the window. Older frames may predate the fixing points a current kit expects. Even where a kit can be fitted, it is sensible to ask how much life the glass and seals have left.
- The hinge type. Top-hung and centre-pivot windows open differently, and a motor has to suit the way the sash moves. VELUX GGL, GPL and GGU explained sets out the common types.
- The reach. A window set high, over a stair, or above a bed is exactly where a motor earns its keep, and also where the wiring route is hardest to plan.
A window that passes all four is a fair candidate for a kit. One that fails any of them, or whose glass is misted or whose seals have hardened, is usually a candidate for replacement instead. Our page on how long a VELUX window lasts helps with that judgement.
Power: the part people overlook
A motor needs a supply, and getting one to a roof window is often the real job.
There are three common ways to power an electric roof window. A mains feed runs a cable from a fused supply to the control unit, which is the tidy choice where the ceiling is open or being made good anyway. A solar window carries its own panel and battery, so no cable is needed, and the page on VELUX solar powered roof windows explains where that suits. A low-voltage supply, fed from a transformer, sits between the two.
The mains route brings electrical rules with it. A cable run through a roof space and a spur off a circuit are notifiable in some cases, and they should be done by a competent electrician, which is covered in whether INTEGRA windows need an electrician. Where the ceiling is already finished, chasing a cable in is disruptive, and that disruption is a sensible reason to choose solar or to think again.
When a new electric window is the tidier answer
A conversion can look like the cheaper option on paper. It is not always the better one in the room.
A replacement makes sense when the existing window is near the end of its life, when the glass has misted, or when you want better glazing at the same time. Changing the window and adding a motor in one visit avoids doing the work twice. It is also the moment to choose a laminated acoustic inner pane if the room is a bedroom that hears the Gatwick routes or the road and rail corridor, which is something a motor kit cannot add. The options are laid out in VELUX glazing options for a quieter loft, and the choice is recorded in the quiet spec that comes with the quote.
A new window also brings the benefits that only electric models carry. A rain sensor can close it at the first drops, as described in what the VELUX rain sensor does, and climate sensors can open it for air. A kit on an older window may not offer either.
Where the existing frame is sound and the model is compatible, a sash alone may be renewed, which is the subject of replacing a VELUX sash without changing the frame. If the new unit is the same size, whether a new VELUX fits the old opening explains what to check.
Our wider work with motorised and opening roof glazing is on the electric and opening rooflight installation page.
Practical questions before you choose
The answers here apply to the questions that come up most on a first visit.
Is a conversion kit cheaper than a new window?
The kit itself usually costs less than a new window. The total depends on power, making good and access, so the gap can close. The rooflight and skylight costs page explains what drives a price up or down.
Will converting change my warranty?
It may. A manufacturer's warranty and an installer's guarantee cover different things, and adding parts can affect the first. How a VELUX warranty differs from an installer's guarantee explains the difference, and our own workmanship guarantee runs for ten years.
Can I fit the kit myself?
The mechanical part is within reach of a careful person, but the electrical supply is not something to improvise, and working at a roof opening carries real risk. We survey first and quote for the whole job.
Will the window still open by hand afterwards?
That depends on the kit, and it is a good question to put to whoever supplies it. A window that can also be opened manually is useful if the power fails.
When you have the data plate to hand, get a quote and we will tell you which route suits. The parent page for this range is VELUX window installation in Crawley.