Bring Natural Light into Your Home

Image Gallery Tubular daylighting devices can bring natural light into spaces where windows aren’t possible. SOLATUBE

A well-lit room will brighten your mood and lighten your attitude. We love natural light, and some studies indicate we’re more productive when using natural light. For example, students learn more quickly and retail sales are improved with natural lighting. But windows aren’t a practical solution for every room in a building. Tubular skylights — also called Solatubes, Sun-Domes, Sun Tunnels and various other trademarked names — can be installed in most homes, providing pleasing, natural light and reducing the amount of electricity used for lighting.

How Tubular Daylighting Devices Work

Tubular skylights use no energy — they simply convey sunlight through the roof to the inside of the house. Light is collected into a clear dome and bounced through a coated metal tube to a diffuser lens in the ceiling. Some devices are designed with flexible tubing so installation around obstacles in the attic is easier. You can even route tubes through walled-in boxes to add natural light to a basement or the first floor of a two-story building.

A single device can light a space of 100 to 600 square feet. The light will be somewhat variable, of course, depending on cloud cover, time of day and the position of the dome on your roof. The size of the device also determines how much light is brought inside the house. Sizes range from 10 to 22 inches in diameter.