Cellular Shades for Skylights
A skylight is a window pointed at the sun. A honeycomb shade in side tracks is the treatment that stays put at an angle, blocks the heat, and — with a solar-panel motor — never needs a pole.
Shop Cellular Shades for Skylights
Made to your exact window size. Prices shown for a 36" × 60" window, shipping included — your size is priced live in the next step.
Quick answers
How do skylight shades stay up on a sloped window?
Side tracks. A tracked cellular shade has guides on both edges that run inside channels fixed to the frame, so the shade stays flat against the glass whether it is closed, open or stopped partway. Untracked shades sag and fall away from the glass on any slope.
How do I operate a skylight I can't reach?
Motorize it. A motorized blackout cellular shade with the solar-panel motor charges itself from the daylight it is blocking, so there is no cable to reach. Control is from a remote, or from Alexa, Google Home or a Matter hub with the smart-home remote option. A manual tracked shade can also be operated with an extension pole if the skylight is within reach of one.
Blackout or light-filtering for a skylight?
Blackout if the skylight is over a bed, a screen, or a room that overheats — it stops both the heat and the beam of direct sun. Light-filtering if the skylight is there to light a hallway or bathroom and you only want to take the edge off the glare.
How a skylight shade is ordered
Skylight shades are not bought off the configurator like a window shade: the side-track hardware depends on the frame, so we price the shade and the tracks together once we have your measurements. The shade itself is the same cellular product shown above.
1. Measure the inside of the frame
Width at the top and bottom, height on both sides, to the eighth of an inch. Enter the smaller width and the larger height. If the skylight is a VELUX or another brand, note the model — it tells us the frame profile.
2. Pick the cell
Blackout for bedrooms, media rooms and anything that overheats; light-filtering for halls and bathrooms. Both are polyester honeycomb and both are made in the same widths.
3. Reach or motor
Within arm's reach or a pole: manual tracked shade. Out of reach, or you just want it on a schedule: motorized cellular with the solar-panel motor and a remote.
4. Get the quote
We come back with the shade, the side tracks for your frame, the motor if chosen, and installation if you want it — one price, one order.
Why not a roller or solar shade on a skylight?
A roller only works flat and vertical; on a slope the fabric hangs off the glass and a tracked roller is a heavier, noisier mechanism. A solar screen keeps a view you cannot use on a roof window and lets most of the heat through. A honeycomb shade is light enough to run in small tracks, insulates, and comes in a true blackout — which is why it is what nearly every skylight manufacturer fits.
Vaulted ceilings and clerestories
The same tracked, motorized cellular shade works on any high, angled or out-of-reach window, not only skylights. If yours is a clerestory strip or a high triangle over a great room, our high-windows page covers bracket access, charging and grouping several shades on one remote.
Why cellular for a skylight
Heat where it hurts most
A south-facing skylight is the hottest glass in the house. The honeycomb's trapped-air cells insulate it; a blackout cell also stops the beam of light.
Held at any angle
Side tracks run down both sides of the frame and keep the shade flat against the glass, open, closed or halfway — no sag on a sloped ceiling.
Solar-panel motor
For a skylight you can't reach, the motor's slim panel faces the glass and keeps the battery charged. Raise and lower from a remote or your phone.
Made to the frame
Cut to your inside-frame measurement from 12" to 96" wide; we confirm fit and hardware before it is made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Skylight shades, answered
How do skylight shades stay up on a sloped window?
Side tracks. A tracked cellular shade has guides on both edges that run inside channels fixed to the frame, so the shade stays flat against the glass whether it is closed, open or stopped partway. Untracked shades sag and fall away from the glass on any slope.
How do I operate a skylight I can't reach?
Motorize it. A motorized blackout cellular shade with the solar-panel motor charges itself from the daylight it is blocking, so there is no cable to reach. Control is from a remote, or from Alexa, Google Home or a Matter hub with the smart-home remote option. A manual tracked shade can also be operated with an extension pole if the skylight is within reach of one.
Blackout or light-filtering for a skylight?
Blackout if the skylight is over a bed, a screen, or a room that overheats — it stops both the heat and the beam of direct sun. Light-filtering if the skylight is there to light a hallway or bathroom and you only want to take the edge off the glare.
Do you make shades for VELUX skylights?
Yes — VELUX and most other brands. Measure the inside of the frame where the shade will sit (width at top and bottom, height both sides) and tell us the brand and model if you know it; we confirm the track fit before the shade is made. Our skylight measuring guide walks through it.
How are skylight shades priced?
The cellular shade itself is priced like any other — the cards above show the starting price at 36" × 60", shipping included. Skylight side tracks, the motor and any installation are quoted with the shade after we have your measurements, because the track hardware depends on the frame. Request a quote and you will have a full price within a business day.
Can I install a skylight shade myself?
A tracked shade on a reachable skylight is a two-bracket, two-track job with a drill and a ladder. For a high vaulted skylight, or a motorized one, most customers have us arrange installation — say so on the quote form.
How much heat does a skylight shade block?
A blackout honeycomb shade closed against the glass blocks the direct beam entirely and slows the heat coming through the glass; the trapped-air cells are the reason cellular shades are the most energy-efficient shade type. The room under a shaded skylight is noticeably cooler by mid-afternoon, and the air-conditioner runs less.
Tell us the skylight, we'll price the shade and the tracks
Size, brand if you know it, and whether you can reach it. You get a complete quote — shade, side tracks, motor if wanted — within a business day.