Solar Tubes - Why Tubular Skylights?
Nov 30th, 2009 by admin
By Troy Truman
Like moths to a flame, people are naturally drawn to rooms that have light. This is why people are more likely to congregate in rooms that have windows than they are in interior rooms that do not have any natural light sources. Natural light is softer and more soothing than the light that is produced by artificial light sources and provides a truer sense of color. Many people install skylights in their homes in order to maximize the amount of natural light that is in their space. More recently, people have been opting to install skylights that use solar tubes, rather than conventional skylights.
A solar tube is a type of skylight that is designed to collect sunlight and reflect it down, along a reflective tube, where it can then be diffused into a room. Most solar tube skylights will have a dome shaped sunlight collector that may be surrounded by a reflective scoop to maximize the sunlight that is collected. The tube will then have either a shaft of reflective material or even mirrors that will reflect and increase the amount of light that will ultimately be emitted from a lens in the ceiling of the room in which the tube ends. Unlike a traditional skylight, this light will be spread out throughout the room, rather than only shining in a direct path to only the ground below the skylight.
Skylights are popular because they not only increase the amount of natural light in a room, but they can also help reduce energy costs by reducing the need to use artificial lighting during the day. Traditional skylights have some drawbacks though. In order for them to be effective, a skylight needs to be a fairly substantial area that is cut out of the roof and ceiling of a given room. Depending upon the location and size of this hole, this can cause structural modifications to need to be made. Skylights employing solar tubes require a much smaller hole and are actually easier to install.
Another advantage of solar tubes is the ability to direct light into a room that is not necessarily immediately beneath the roof of the home. A solar tube skylight can illuminate a room in a home that has an attic or a crawl space, or in some cases even in a ground floor room of a two or three story house. Though the lighting will be less bright the longer the tube, this is a benefit that a traditional skylight cannot provide.
About The Author
Troy Truman is an online publisher providing great tips on a variety of topics across the web! Read more at http://www.eSolarZone.com