A tubular skylight delivers beautiful, diffused natural light into your home through stylish fixtures for maximum visual comfort and aesthetics. It offers options for brightening, dimming, ventilation, and even intelligent nighttime lighting.
Where to Install Tubular Skylights: Part One
You may be wondering where is the best place to install a tubular skylight in your home. Here are our top suggestions:
1. The kitchen
In our experience, one of the most popular rooms is the kitchen. Most homeowners pick out granite or stone countertops when they are outside in daylight. Once the surfaces are installed and viewed in the home under fluorescent lighting, they just don’t look the same as when they were selected. This dilemma can easily be resolved with a tubular skylight, which allows for one hundred percent color rendition, meaning you can see the true color of objects without any color shift.
2. A living room
Another area to consider is the living room because it’s a space where you typically spend the majority of your time. Natural light makes these spaces more inviting and desirable to be in and enjoy.
3. Any rooms or spaces that do not have a window
When people add on to their homes, it sometimes causes an existing room to lose exterior windows. A few other spaces that often do not have windows and are great candidates for a tubular skylight are an interior hallway, powder bathroom, laundry room, closet, or entryway from a garage.
So, how does a tubular skylight actually work? It all starts with a dome, which can be mounted with a leak-proof flashing on any rooftop, from shingle to tile and everything in between. The dome then catches daylight and channels it down through Spectralight® Infinity Tubing. This reflective tubing is much more efficient than a traditional drywall skylight shaft, which can lose over half of the potential light. It’s made of the world’s most reflective material that maintains brightness around corners and when light levels are low, such as in the early morning or late afternoon, on overcast days, or during winter months. It evenly illuminates dark areas of your home through a diffuser at the ceiling level that resembles a recessed light fixture.
A full line of decorative fixtures, both round and square, is available, and they deliver beautiful, diffused light for maximum visual comfort and aesthetics. Accessories and add-ons provide options for brightening, dimming, ventilation, and even integrated, solar-powered intelligent nighttime lighting to completely control your daylighting environment.
Where to Install Tubular Skylights: Part Two
There are different Solatube Daylight Systems for different areas. Let’s review, and you choose the configurations that are right for you.
1. The Solatube 160 ISn Daylighting System. It’s our most versatile product and one that’s perfect for any room. It is ideal for spaces under 150 square feet. It offers a built-in, solar-powered night light that emits a soft glow in the evenings. The tube is 10 inches wide and up to 20+ feet long. It can be outfitted with ventilation for controlling humidity, dimming for adjusting daylight levels, and other options for a customized lighting solution that meets your needs. Best of all, it qualifies for 26% federal tax credit on purchase and installation.
The Solatube 160 ISn can be paired with several decorative fixtures. The JustFrost is a clean, contemporary design that is available in round or square. The OptiView is more unique, with dazzling skyviews and also available in round or square. The TierDrop is a beautiful cascading design, while the Classic Vusion is a classically simple design.
2. The Solatube 290 ISn Daylighting System. It can boost the brightness in bigger spaces. It is ideal for spaces that are 300+ square feet. Featuring a larger tube 14 inches wide and up to 30+ feet long, it brings more light indoors for the brightest experience possible. If you want less light, an optional solar daylight dimmer allows you to adjust daylight levels in just seconds. At night, the built-in solar-powered night light emits just enough light to help you navigate in the dark. This system and installation also qualify for a 26% federal tax credit, making it more affordable than ever to bring natural light into your home.
The Solatube 290 ISn can be paired with the same decorative fixtures as the 160 ISn, the JustFrost, OptiView, TierDrop, and Classic Vusion, as well as two others. The AuroraGlo is available in white or bronze, and the VividShade accents daylight with contemporary fabric.
You may be wondering if a tubular skylight will draw heat into your indoor space. While the Spectralight® Infinity Tubing transmits the visible spectrum of light, it redirects the infrared wavelengths up and out, which is the main culprit in solar heat gain. These tubes are designed to have the heat transfer up and out, without being able to feel any heat gain at the fixture. Similar to a double pane window, tubing is sealed at the top and bottom, causing the heat to exit upward.
There are several benefits of installing a tubular skylight. First, it brings natural light into the interior spaces of the home without structural modifications because it will fit between rafters and be installed easily. Second, there’s one hundred percent color rendition, meaning you can see the true color of objects without any color shift. For example, if you’re trying to match black and navy socks, you will be able to see a distinction between the two colors. Last, there’s no sun damage or color deterioration of clothing, furniture, or any fabrics beneath a tubular skylight.
If you have any questions about cooling off a space, protecting your home, and controlling your utility bills, please set up your free in-home consultation today.
