"Skylights are a great addition to any house, as they bring in more natural light – cutting down on artificial light electricity costs, as well as promoting good health for a home’s occupants. Unfortunately, however, skylights are hard to install in most pre-built homes because they require so much roof real estate. Also, unless the sun is at the right angle and there are absolutely no clouds in the sky, skylights don’t always illuminate a space in a way that makes their cost worthwhile. Thats why we love Solatube – a smart technology which takes skylights one step further by refracting, reflecting and concentrating solar light into a small tube using mirrors and lenses." - Above quote from http://inhabitat.com/solar-tube/
See: http://www.solatube.com/.
BTW, most of our buildings here on the homestead employ a very simple solar light device: A flat piece of translucent fiberglass that is interleaved into a roof covered in asphalt shinglers. Ultra simple, it lights up the room(s). Has worked well for 40 years.
6 comments:
We have used the solar tubes in the house we used to own in Santa Fe, NM and they were great. I have never been a fan of skylights because in a heating/cooling climate they overheat in the summer and let heat out in the winter, not to mention the problem with leaking. But the solar tubes generally don't have those problems. The light they let in is amazing even on a overcast day.
Solar energy is renewable. We never have to worry about running out of sunlight or using it all up. The sun is a consistent power source meaning it's always going to be there every day. This is a great project to conserve our electricity.
I have used sun pipes on a few jobs, they seem to work well. The only downsides I have found are some are a bit pricey, the other is we often have to specify the narrow diameter ones as health & safety officers get concerned over people crashing through the bigger ones, that could really take some doing but thats what I get asked to allow for!
Ever heard of anyone assembling their own version, or is the reflective material too specialized to replicate?
I have done details for small light wells before (small skylight with safety or burglar bars with a white painted ply or plasterboard shaft linking to a diffuser on a ceiling). But as to a home made sunpipe, not really. Its not just the reflective tube that could be a problem but making sure the roof unit doesn't leak or get seal problems, also making sure the roof insulation is not badly breached. If you live in a warmer county it might not be too much of a problem, but here the rain and condensation has made for a short life for many buildings that have not been designed to take it into account.
Thanks for the insight!
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