All About Tubular Skylights

Tubular!

Imagine a warm span of sunlight gracing your interior closet or secluded office.  Perhaps a burst of sunlight will flood your closet when you happen upon the perfect ensemble for the coming evening.  Studies show that, in addition to looking better, natural light also alleviates the stress of long hours at work.  Don't expect miracles, but the concept merits consideration.

As a source of natural light, where there would otherwise be none, they are great.  However, most consumers will balk at spending money for lighting an interior room.  There is an alternative: an optional electric lighting kit that installs directly above the skylight diffuser (the lens that distributes light through a room).  Other accessories include ventilation kits, daylight dimmer, and security kits. 

Heavyweight lights

In some cases, a tubular skylight will be less expensive than renovating the lighting schemes of some of your smaller rooms.  Track lighting fixtures and bulbs can get very expensive, whereas a tubular skylight may only cost 300 dollars with installation.  Of course, this depends on the location of the interior room.  A room which requires the tube to wend through your home will be more expensive, as will any tube stretching a great distance.  Most manufacturers don't recommend more than about 16 feet of tube, at which point much of the light is diffused. 

Au natural

Some homeowners have taken to lighting larger rooms with tubular skylights as well.  The benefits here are many, but one major drawback is the obvious need for traditional lighting systems.  First among the advantages are the energy savings, both in electricity and when compared to heat loss through normal skylights.  And, if you enjoy the natural light of a skylight, you may notice that UV rays can damage furniture and carpet.  The properly diffused light of a tubular skylight won't.  Totally tubular, indeed.

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