Solar tubes/tubular skylights

[rubytue]

We need a new roof 😢 But we are also talking about adding a tubular skylight to bring light into our incredibly dark and dreary entryway (which also has the start to the basement and a closet). If we are going to do it, having the roofers do it is the best time. 

if you have one, do you like it? Does it produce as much light as they seem to claim? Any one happen to have on a sloped roof facing north? I’m wondering if I’ll be disappointed when it doesn’t have much light come December. 

[Pibs]

We had one put in our previous house in the water closet room because there wasn't any natural light otherwise. I absolutely loved it! The room was pretty small and we rarely used the light after that. Even in the middle of the night there was enough light to see. I'm pretty sure it was south facing, which made the water super sparkly in the shower if it was sunny.

[libbygrl109]

My in-laws have one in their kitchen. It provides a lot of natural light.

[dr.girlfriend]

We have one in our bathroom and really like it! It does give quite a lot of light!

[mrsukyankee]

We had one in a bathroom in our old house and it was great.

[Susie]

We have two skylights in our family room facing NNW.  Haven't been through a winter in this house yet, but they do add nice light in the afternoon.

I saw tubular skylights a few times when we were house shopping.  They seemed most common in master bathrooms.  They made a huge difference in there, but IDK if it would be as dramatic in a larger room.

[macmars45]

My sister has one in her bathroom and loves it.

H and I had skylights in our upstairs bathrooms in our TH. We loved it. We have no skylights in our current house though.

[stemmie]

My parents last house (on a golf course) had skylights (in addition to a 2 walls of windows in their LR/DR and it was still a dark and kind of dreary space because the house was surrounded by large trees on 3 sides which blocked light.

[rubytue]

Just so you know, we do have skylights, on the south side of the house. I’m looking for an easy way to add light to dark areas on the other side of the house, also facing north and the front. When if why I am specifically looking for tubular skylight.

[zarapipe]

We have two tube lights and two skylights. I much prefer the tube lights. The light is very natural but not bright and you don’t have to clean them on the roof. Our skylights are so dirty.

[lucybrown]

We have two and I love them. One in a stairwell and the other in a bathroom. Neither has any windows. They look like flush mount light fixtures and add so much natural light. I wish we had another in our walk-in closet.

[caddywompus]

My parents have one in the guest bathroom. It is an interior room without windows. It gives enough light that we never need to turn on the light during the day. The solar tube light has a built in fan, which is helpful in the bathroom.

[rubytue]

Oct 29, 2021 19:49:46 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

Ours are facing east and south. The bathroom faces east and it’s noticeably darker as the sun sets, but still provides a good amount of light.

Our city was picky about them on the on the roof facing the street. We had to go through an extra level of approval.

Yeah, I’m going with the flat ones instead of the bubble tops bc of this. I’m in crazy HOAland, MD. But, so far, my one experience getting something approved was very low key. Seemed to be like “this is a 50 year old neighborhood, we are happy with modernizing and updating whatever” 😂  Plus, these guys have tax rebates for solar power (I guess reducing lighting needs), and the community is very progressive. So I’m kinda proceeding thinking roof color may be a bigger deal. Hoping…

[lucybrown]

Oct 30, 2021 13:13:12 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Oct 29, 2021 19:49:46 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

Ours are facing east and south. The bathroom faces east and it’s noticeably darker as the sun sets, but still provides a good amount of light.

Our city was picky about them on the on the roof facing the street. We had to go through an extra level of approval.

Yeah, I’m going with the flat ones instead of the bubble tops bc of this. I’m in crazy HOAland, MD. But, so far, my one experience getting something approved was very low key. Seemed to be like “this is a 50 year old neighborhood, we are happy with modernizing and updating whatever” 😂  Plus, these guys have tax rebates for solar power (I guess reducing lighting needs), and the community is very progressive. So I’m kinda proceeding thinking roof color may be a bigger deal. Hoping…

That’s great. Our city is picky about everything with no rhyme or reason.

[dr.girlfriend]

I almost forgot, I took a picture the other day to help you get a sense. If this helps, it was a very overcast day.  I used my phone compass and I guess that roof faces SW though?