Replies

1. 
   BossHog | Jul 04, 2002 03:22am | #1

   Everyone I've talked to is disappointed with the amount of light they actually bring in. The consensus seems to be that they're about as bright as a 60W light bulb.
1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jul 04, 2002 06:52am | #3

   Yeah, a 60 watt lightbulb is a good description.   That turns out to be a lot of light in a small room that has no other sunlight.   However, it makes very little difference in a room that has a good amount of sunlight in it already.

1. 
   cutawooda | Jul 04, 2002 04:34pm | #4

   I had a interior bathroom about 8 x6. It was so dark that even in the middle of the day there was no way you could se in there with out a light. Consequently the light was left on at all times. My wife left town for a few days and I installed a tube sky light. I was, she was, they were all blown away about how much light was put out by this product. I am still to this day ecstatic about the 200.00 I spent on this.

1. 
   Tantivy1 | Jul 05, 2002 03:58am | #5

   We had seven ten-inch solatubes installed in our house before we moved in six years ago. Two are in a semi-dark hall area off the living room; two are in an interior dining room; the other three are in bathrooms, one of them on the north side of the house, with only a small obscure window in it. Guests ask where the light switch is, so they can turn off the light; they're amazed when I tell them it's daylight coming in through a ten-inch-diameter tube. When I want to demonstrate a solatube, I take people into another bathroom, one with no windows, and close the door. Again, they're awed at the amount of light. Even the solatube in the dining room that's just north of a chimney (the installer did a great job fitting it in between two sets of trusses at 90 degrees) brings in a lot of light. We live in Washington State, where we have a lot of overcast/rainy days; I really appreciate them then because the reflectance of the tube between the ceiling the and roof adds a lot of light inside. At dusk, when it's almost dark outside, it's actually lighter indoors under the solatubes. I can't imagine what our house would be like without them. Perhaps the nay-sayers have seen solatubes only where or when more light isn't really needed; they prove their worth in the darkest situations. Barbara (Jim's wife)

2. 
   xMikeSmith | Jul 04, 2002 03:41am | #2

   we've been installing Suntunnel for about 6 years.... the clients love them...

    one reason is the Suntunnel is bigger... the small ones are 14" and the large ones are 22".. a lot of the other mfr's claim they have better reflectance, yada , yada , yada... but a skylight is a skylight.. and the aperture size is king.. bigger is brighter..

   Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore