Have a dark or dingy room, one with few or even without windows, in your house or office? If so, you understand the value of natural daylight. Here is what you can do…
Solatube and SunTunnel, made by Velux skylights are two companies that produce tubes with highly reflective materials on the inside. The idea is to gather and bounce daylight from a cap that sits on the roof down this “mirrored” channel into a dark spot in your home – an interior room, basement playroom or closet, for example.
Once installed, these solar channels are maintenance free, effective systems. Solatube is the company that also makes Solar Star , a solar paneled attic fan we brought to you back in July 2011 – another great product!
Solatube recently introduced another marvelous addition to the basic tube system:
(1) A “Smart LED System” which can be set up to automatically turn on built-in LED lights to augment or replace absent daylight.
(2) An added on fan/ vent system – great for any bathroom!
Both companies tout energy savings from less usage of artificial light. While this is certainly true in commercial applications, it is not really that important in residential settings. By contrast, the added quality of life from being in daylight is what makes sun tubes a really great idea for dark areas in your home.
Thinking about creating a basement playroom for your kids? Figure out how to bring sun tubes into the space – I guarantee it makes a world of difference in the quality and enjoyment of the space!