This idea was first developed by the Egyptians, and modern solar skylights do not differ much from their Egyptian predecessors. The design is incredibly simple and efficient, and requires much less space for installation than traditional skylights. This makes them a great way to take advantage of the sun’s rays to bring more natural light into your home, while reducing your electricity bills by not having to turn on the lights as much.

How Solar Tubes Work

The skylights consist of a tube lined with reflective materials, with a lens at either end. They sit in the ceiling in a recessed hole similar to many types of artificial lighting. The exterior lens on the roof helps to concentrate and reflect the sun’s rays into the tube where they then bounce off the sides of the tube until finally reaching the lens inside the room itself. This lens spreads the light throughout the room, usually much more efficiently and evenly than traditional skylights.

Advantages of Solar Tubes

• Environmentally friendly
• Can save you money
• Beneficial to your health
• Easy to install

All types of skylights are considered environmentally friendly because they allow natural light into the home, which can help cut down on electricity consumption because they eliminate the need for electric lights during the day. Cutting down on your electricity usage also helps to reduce pollution and your carbon footprint. Conventional skylights also tend to let in a lot of heat along with light, which can be great during the winter, however they can quickly heat up your home during the hot summer months. 

For those homes with air conditioners, this can also cause a quick rise in your electricity bill. An advantage of tubular skylights is that they only allow in light, and usually keep out UV rays which can damage your furniture or flooring. Another advantage is that these light tubes are lined with reflective materials which allow them to let in as much light as a much larger conventional skylight.

Monetary Advantages

By installing tubular skylights, you can save yourself a bundle on your electric bills. They can eliminate the need to use any artificial lighting during the daytime, while also being much better insulated than traditional skylights. This allows them to save you money on your heating and cooling bills as well. The savings may not be dramatic but they do add up. However, the biggest advantage lies in the price of the skylights themselves and their installation. Purchasing and installing these products is much cheaper than the price of conventional skylights, which makes them a great bargain for anyone looking to add more natural lighting into their home.

Health Advantages

It has been scientifically proven that the sun’s rays are extremely beneficial and even necessary to a person’s health and well-being. Skylights can be a great way to introduce more natural light into your home, which research has shown is great for stimulating the mind and keeping yourself healthy and happy. 

Much research has been done into so called seasonal depressions - when a person’s mood suddenly become altered due to the lack of sunlight in the winter and having to be stuck indoors due to bad weather. Skylights allow for added exposure to the sun in the comfort and safety of your own home, even during the cold and sometimes dreary winter months. This makes them a great addition to any home, as exposure to natural light has been proven to significantly improve a person’s health and mood.

Installation of Solar Tubes

One of the biggest advantages tubular skylights have over their conventional counterparts is that they can be installed almost anywhere. Traditional skylights need to be installed between the rafters in a roof, and require a wood frame to be built in the expanse between the roof and ceiling. However, the tubes can be installed quickly and easily without the need for extra construction to the existing roof structure. 

A professional carpenter can perform the installation for you in a few hours, and multiple tubes can even be installed in a single visit with little to no mess. 

The process is very simple- a hole is cut in the roof and another hole is cut in the drywall or plaster in the ceiling, then the tube is inserted and the hole in the roof is sealed around the tube. 

Almost anyone with even a little construction knowledge can easily install a tubular skylight in their own home in a day. Most all of the products you’ll find you purchase will come with a very detailed set of installation instructions making this a very easy DIY project. You can quickly add more natural lighting in your home and save even more money by doing the work yourself, but as always, make sure you know what you are doing before you start cutting holes in your roof or ceiling, as there could be wires or plumbing underneath the sheeting.

Tubular skylights are a great way to reduce your energy bills and environmental pollution. They are also a cheap easy way to add natural light into any room in your home quickly and without the need for expensive, time-consuming construction. If you’re seeking to introduce more light into your home, or to make your home more environmentally friendly, then one of the easiest places to start is by installing a few solar skylights and you’ll quickly see the difference natural lighting makes for the feel of your home and your own personal health and mood as well.

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