Natural Home Lighting: Solar Tubes

Written by: Lindsay Evans • Edited by: Niki Fears
Updated Feb 28, 2011

Solar tubes are innovative, effective skylights. They work to refract and reflect the sun's light into your home, decreasing your need for artificial lighting. Also known as solar light tubes, solar tubes can help reduce your energy bill while flooding your home with bright, healthy sunlight.

How Solar Tubes Work

Solar tubes are a hot new product in solar lighting for homes, offices, and other buildings. Applying modern technology to an age-old idea, solar tubes help solve the problem of lighting interior spaces utilizing natural sunlight.

Solar tubes capture sunlight on the roof of your home through a small dome and reflect the light down a tube which runs through the attic. The light comes through a diffuser on the ceiling, lighting the room with all-natural sunlight. On the ceiling, the solar tube resembles a recessed light fixture.

Solar tubes are particularly useful to light hallways, closets and other small spaces. Several solar tubes may be installed to light a larger space, drastically diminishing your need for artificial lighting.

Solar tubes come in different designs and sizes to work in varied living and work spaces. Available add-on kits can accommodate a standard or compact florescent light bulb for use during the night. Dimmer switches can be used to "turn down" or block the light when needed.

By utilizing the sun's light to light your home during the day you can save energy and money by leaving your electric lights off. Solar tubes can help to save a substantial amount of money in the long run.

A Typical Solar Tube

Solar Tubes vs. Skylights

Solar tubes are not prone to many of the common hassles associated with skylights. Skylights are tricky and expensive to install, particularly on an existing building. Traditional skylights may also contribute to unwanted heat loss or gain in your home, and have been known to leak and cause condensation problems.

Solar tubes are inexpensive and easy to install both on new construction and existing buildings. Installation takes about 2 hours by a trained technician. Alternatively, installing solar tubes is a relatively easy DIY project for the homeowner.

Where Can I Find Solar Tubes?

Solar tubes are manufactured by several companies. Solatube International is an industry leader in durability, style choice, and technology. According to the Solatube website, "The Solatube Daylighting System is the only product line with Spectralight® Infinity, a revolutionary reflective tubing material that can transfer up to 500 percent more daylight than any other material currently used in the industry. With Solatube Daylighting Systems, all you see is the brightest, cleanest and whitest natural light possible." Other solar tube brands include VELUX Sun Tunnel, and Sun-Tek.

When shopping for a solar tube, be sure the model you choose in Energy Star certified. Solar tube kits can cost between $175 - $350 each, which does not include installation or accessories.

led grow lights Jan 25, 2012 6:39 AM

RE: Natural Home Lighting: Solar Tubes

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blayne Apr 1, 2011 9:29 AM

man i want one of these solar tubes for my place! how much do they cost an were can i find them near my state?

Maggie Mar 24, 2011 11:54 AM

Keywords: Solar Tube vs Tublar Skylight

The dismissive remarks about the technically correct terms to call these solar tubular devices are uncalled for. I tested the terms by searching on "Solar Tube" versus "Tubular Daylighting Device" and got a lot more hits, they were on target, and offered more information for evaluating systems.

Folks, the writing is on the wall, so to speak. You get what you pay for. I initially wanted to find the type of tubular lighting that I heard Bill Nye, the Science Guy, talk about recently. His system has a "Fresnel lens" (the "s" is silent) to enhance the amount of light. If you Google that, you'll find high-intensity beams collected by these lenses (see the YouTube demos).

The one that uses the high-tech Fresnel lens - it's the Solatube brand. So, if I want that lens, I pay for it, but I know what I'm getting. Thanks, Lauren, for providing some useful keywords for my search.

Maggie, who works in a university research library and appreciates good keyword searches.

Jack Fisher Feb 10, 2011 9:16 PM

Solatube is a greedy corporation!

Solatube tells everyone that there is no such thing as a solar tube and that we all should not use this terminology that they have set up. Yet if you insert www.solartube.com guess who pops up? SOLATUBE! The same ones telling all us not to use the term solar tube are in fact confusing the public by owning the domain names solartube and solartubes. There is nothing wrong with competition and i say bring it on but SOLATUBE uses these tactics to hurt small bussiness owners that don't concede to there demands and if we don't concede then they will litigate these small businesses to death. In high school i used to call these ones bullies and that is what SOLATUBE is, a big bully.

Carrie Jan 29, 2011 2:02 AM

No Solatube

I was excited to look at the website for Solatube because we are building a house and I want to install several solar tubes in the home. I was also incredibly turned off by Lauryn's comment and will now be researching other companies. Way to go Solatube- Lauryn and your ridiculous buisness procedures don't seem to be working too good for your company.

Max Steele Jul 9, 2010 12:46 PM

Lauryn Works for SolaTubes Attorneys

Rod,

Solatube is paying a law firm to protect their copyright and claim that the word "solar tube" is infringement.

This person "Lauryn" obviously works for the firm that is getting a monthly retainer from Solatube to threaten smaller competitors and post comments like this on every blog where the words "solar tube" appear.

"Solar Tube" is increasingly the most favored and accepted term for these types of products and it is not copyright infringement to use this term.

I will also not ever buy a SOLAR TUBE from "solatube" mainly because of these antics but also because they are way overpriced.

Rod Stone Jun 30, 2010 5:18 AM

Lauryn's dumb comment

My comment is in reference to the preceding comment. No one cares about recognition by the National Fenestration Rating Council. I'm interested in buying and installing "Solar Tubes" on a current build project and I certainly won't be purchasing a Solatube, simply because your comment was an annoying attempt to plug your product. Thanks for turning me off as a consumer and making a ridiculous point about semantics. Go work for the IRS or something. The article on this page is nice and didn't need your correction.

Lauryn Jun 19, 2009 4:42 PM

Solar tube vs. Solatube

Hi Lindsay,

I wanted to inform you that the term “solar tube” is actually not recognized by the National Fenestration Rating Council which rates and measures skylights. To ensure the accuracy of this article and future articles, I wanted to provide you with the appropriate industry accepted terms.

We suggest any of the following as a substitute for the term “solar tube:”

•Solatube Daylighting System (if you wanted to refer to our brand name)
•Tubular Daylighting Device (if you wanted to refer to our specific category)
•Tubular Skylight (if you wanted to refer to the generic category)

Often times, consumers get confused between our brand Solatube with the term “solar tube” and we are working to clarify any misrepresentation. With that being said, I was wondering if you would be willing to make those small necessary changes to your article.

Many thanks for your consideration of this request.

Natural Home Lighting: Solar Tubes

How Solar Tubes Work

A Typical Solar Tube

Solar Tubes vs. Skylights

Where Can I Find Solar Tubes?

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