Most people are familiar with solar lighting whether they realize it or not. Skylights and ordinary windows are examples that are often taken for granted. The principle of solar lighting, or daylighting as it is sometimes referred to as, is rather simple. The light produced by the sun is diffused through a room with windows or channelled to specific areas with skylights or solar tubes.
An issue arises with solar lighting in the home. Let’s say for example that you have an interior bathroom or other room that has no windows. The constant use of light bulbs throughout the day and night can really add up to a large consumption of energy. The fix in this situation? Solar or light tubes.
As mentioned above, the use of solar tubes helps to specifically channel light to a dim area of the home, such as the interior bathroom in the example. Now, if your target room is on a lower floor, installing a solar tube will not be practical. However, on an upper floor or on the main floor of a single story home, the solar tube really shines (pardon the pun).
You may be wondering how a solar tube actually works and if it is much different than a skylight. Well, a solar tube starts with an enclosed transparent cap mounted on the roof. The cap is attached to a tube which is highly reflective on the inside. At the bottom of the tube is a cap with a plastic covering resembling a recessed light fixture in the ceiling of the room. As light enters the tube, it is reflected down into the room and concentrated as a fixed point of light.
The beauty of solar tubes actually comes from the flexibility they offer. Because of the reflective surface inside the tube, it does not need to be straight or short. The location of the roof cap can be several feet from the ceiling of your room. It can also be angled to reach its desired target. The ability to concentrate solar light into one specific area of the home is amazing yet simple.
Solar lighting, which you already make use of with windows, can play an even greater role in your home and reduce your overall consumption of electricity.
Do you have a comment on solar lighting or solar tubes in particular? Please feel free to leave a comment below and share your knowledge.
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