Solar Tube

[walleyed]

Have any of you had these installed in your home? I have been looking at them for a couple dark areas.

My worry is the amount of actual light they let in vs the heat loss and condensation issues. I have had skylights in the past as was never impressed. Lots of heat loss and they all dripped condensation.

There are a few manufactures out there. Here is one of them.

Solatube Daylighting System and Tubular Daylighting Devices for residential or commercial daylighting and sunlighting needs are the smart, green and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional skylights

 

[ultrarunner]

Yes... installed several here in a mild California climate... no problems with condensation.

Last one was in a walk-in closet and it made a big improvement.

 

[Travelover]

I've installed three in Michigan. Two 14" and one 10". They have been in place for 5 years and no issues. I did insulate the outside by wrapping them in 6" fiberglass. The installation on a shingle roof is a piece of cake.

Definitely go with the larger tubes - the difference in light is huge. Plan the job carefully. If you are too near the roof line the tube will be too long and if too near the peak the tube will be too short and you will need an extension tube - extra $$

 

[ustmd]

We have two of thr 10" in our house in Central Texas. One is in the kitchen over the sink and the other is in the master bath shower.

Both of them replaced existing light fixtures and are in areas that did not have good natural light. We have had them for 2 or 3 years now and couldn't be happier with them.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

We've had one from when they first came out. I installed it myself. It's the second bath and has no windows. If it's daylight outside it's like we have a nice light on in the room. I recommend the heck out of them. And, they're smile as heck to install yourself.

 

[walleyed]

Thanks for the info. :thumbsup:

I'm going to get one for now for an ensuite bathroom that has no windows. I will insulate the tube in the attic to try to eliminate the condensation. If this one works out I'll add another.

Is there a particular brand you would recommend? I have found 5-6 of them. Home depot up here sells Columbia. Made in BC. Also available local is Velux

Thanks

 

[ultrarunner]

My visiting friends from Austria liked what they saw at my home and tracked down a supplier in Austria... they couldn't be happier and all their friends had never seen one either.

It snows a lot in the Alps...

 

[BRB Hand]

I put a velux tube in my laundry room and I love it. It was a pita to put the very flimsy tube together as mine is about 11 ft with 2 elbows . With that said i LOVE it!! I did wrap the tube with tyvek then fiberglass insulation; might be overkill but……

 

[Craig Clayton]

I believe I have seen several on my neighbours roof and I do not like the exterior look of how they stick up. On how they look I would not want that look on my roof.
Craig Clayton

 

[ultrarunner]

I believe I have seen several on my neighbours roof and I do not like the exterior look of how they stick up. On how they look I would not want that look on my roof.
Craig Clayton

Sometimes you have the option of running it out the rear side of the roof so it isn't seen from the street.

My brother should have been a sales rep... lots of folks walk in his neighborhood when the weather is nice in the evening... I bet he was responsible for at least a dozen sales...

Neighbors would see and ask and then want to take a look inside.

 

[walleyed]

I believe I have seen several on my neighbours roof and I do not like the exterior look of how they stick up. On how they look I would not want that look on my roof.
Craig Clayton

I'm with ya on that Craig but from what I've seen some are not bad while others sit about 24" above the roof and almost look like a chimney. I don't think I'd want several together either as that might look tacky. Mine will be on the back side so nobody will see them except us.

I have seen some installed but I have no idea which brand they were. One place I was looking for the light switch to turn it off. Thought it was a light... Did I feel dumb

They do give off a ton of light and for me its rooms with no natural light so the trade off is good.

 

[dave1949]

I have three SolaTubes installed in 2006. No condensation issues. They are all on a north slope roof and still give plenty of light. We have had guests looking for the light switch too.

For Ontario, one caution is that they can get buried in snow. I have a metal roof, and being dumb about that, didn't put snow fences above them until a slide took the plastic dome right off of one.

I clean around them with the snow rake after every snow that is more than a couple inches. You might want to consider above the roof extensions to help reduce that chore. Or, maybe avoid locations not within easy reach of a snow rake.

They are great products but the design or idea is marginal for harsh winter climates.
Dave.

 

[brandoro]

The main bathroom in my last house had no outside walls so no natural light. I put in a 10" Sola tube and was very pleased with the result. No condensation problems, often covered with snow but still quite a bit of light came in. Dazzling amount of light in summer, even a full moon would light the room enough to find things without turning on the lights. No snow slides on the shingle roof.
Once problem was that a roofer dropped his hatchet through it, broke the ceiling diffuser and took a divot out of the sink. None of them are allowed in my yard again.

 

[walleyed]

I have three SolaTubes installed in 2006. No condensation issues. They are all on a north slope roof and still give plenty of light. We have had guests looking for the light switch too.

For Ontario, one caution is that they can get buried in snow. I have a metal roof, and being dumb about that, didn't put snow fences above them until a slide took the plastic dome right off of one.

I clean around them with the snow rake after every snow that is more than a couple inches. You might want to consider above the roof extensions to help reduce that chore. Or, maybe avoid locations not within easy reach of a snow rake.

They are great products but the design or idea is marginal for harsh winter climates.
Dave.

Thank you. I thought about snow but not snow-ice sliding on a steel roof. Your post likely saved me some $ for repair...

 

[walleyed]

a roofer dropped his hatchet through it, broke the ceiling diffuser and took a divot out of the sink. None of them are allowed in my yard again.

Wow
Good thing you weren't standing there brushing your teeth..We might have seen you on 1001 ways to die.

 

[dave1949]

Thank you. I thought about snow but not snow-ice sliding on a steel roof. Your post likely saved me some $ for repair...

You are welcome! I have saved many $ from advice on TBN. It's a good thing. :thumbsup:

The good thing about snow fences on metal roofs is they will protect penetrations like septic vents, chimneys, solatubes, etc. The bad news is that a few snow fences here and there tend to lock up the snow across big sections of your roof preventing it from sliding off. Sort of defeats one of the nice things about metal roofs. For that reason, I would keep penetrations as high on a metal roof as possible.

I like my solatubes because they bring natural light into our bathrooms and a back hallway, which is a great improvement over artificial light. Our house is earth-bermed on three sides so any enclosed rooms along the back wall can be dark. But, they definitely do add to maintenance chores in winter. As in most things, there are trade-offs.
Dave.

 

[JB4310]

Glad to hear all the positive responses, I've thought about one for my house.
My upstairs hallway has no windows and if all the bedroom doors are closed it's so dark and gloomy.
I've seen where people have put frosted window between hall and bedroom or bathroom. I think the solar tube would be better.

How much of a bend/offset can you have to still let in decent light?

JB.

 

[dave1949]

Glad to hear all the positive responses, I've thought about one for my house.
My upstairs hallway has no windows and if all the bedroom doors are closed it's so dark and gloomy.
I've seen where people have put frosted window between hall and bedroom or bathroom. I think the solar tube would be better.

How much of a bend/offset can you have to still let in decent light?

JB.

Good question. Mine are short and straight, so no help there. It's possible some brands are better than others for a specific installation. I've never run across info that does a point by point comparison.
Dave.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm anti sky lights of any kind. Mostly because of all the long terms issues that I've seen from them leaking or the plastic deteriorating or the damage that is doen to the paper and shingles around them during instalation. The older the shingles and paper under the shingles, the more brittle they are, and the more likely you are to create problems down the road by disturbing them.

Your ceiling is the most important area for insultion. Creating a hole in your ceiling means there is no R value in that area. Kind of like putting a hole in a boat. It wont sink, but it's going to let water in. How much heat will go up and out through that skylight?

For the cost of the light, the price to install it and the loss of energy you lose because of it, why not install a 40 watt light bulb?

Eddie

 

[nue2farm]

Hey Dave, bet you don't need a very long ladder to get on your roof >. I have an earth berm home also.