Tubular Daylighting Devices Bring In Natural Light
More advanced and less pricey than traditional skylights, TDDs are the most modern way to let the light in
Natural light is one of a home's best assets. It can make you see better and feel better. It can decrease depression and improve your health. As the Greek philosopher Plato said, albeit in a different context, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." The newest, sleekest way to bring natural light into your home is with a tubular daylighting device — a narrow tube that unobtrusively shines daylight into dark rooms.
Tubular daylighting devices (TDD) also reduce the number of fixtures you need in a room, thereby saving you electricity and money. Solatube International, which manufactures TDDs, also says that the tubes are time and cost efficient: A professional can install one in two hours, and they cost less than installing new windows or traditional skylights. Payback varies, but for an average cost of $500, you could see economic benefits in a few years, Eco-Structure magazine reports.
The skylights are reflective cylinders or pipes installed between the roof and ceiling, with a clear plastic dome. The bottoms of the tubes are diffused or glazed to prevent glaring beams of light and to ensure a soft glow.
Garrison Hullinger, of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design in Portland, Oregon, loves to put these tubes in his clients' bathrooms, because the natural light creates a serene spa atmosphere. But they can go in just about any room of the house.
Tubular daylighting devices (TDD) also reduce the number of fixtures you need in a room, thereby saving you electricity and money. Solatube International, which manufactures TDDs, also says that the tubes are time and cost efficient: A professional can install one in two hours, and they cost less than installing new windows or traditional skylights. Payback varies, but for an average cost of $500, you could see economic benefits in a few years, Eco-Structure magazine reports.
The skylights are reflective cylinders or pipes installed between the roof and ceiling, with a clear plastic dome. The bottoms of the tubes are diffused or glazed to prevent glaring beams of light and to ensure a soft glow.
Garrison Hullinger, of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design in Portland, Oregon, loves to put these tubes in his clients' bathrooms, because the natural light creates a serene spa atmosphere. But they can go in just about any room of the house.
The difference in this bathroom between no TDD, with electric lights from sconces turned on, and a TDD, electric lights turned off, is eye opening. And the more you keep your lights off, the more you save in electric costs.
TDDs can be installed on almost any roof. And unlike large skylights, they keep a fairly low profile, even if they can be seen from an outdoor space, as in this house.
Velux Sun Tunnel Skylight
In this close-up of a Velux Sun Tunnel, you can see the clear plastic dome on top of the reflective cylinder that is installed between the roof and the ceiling.
A shower with a solar tube shines brightly, even without electric lights.
A TDD in a kitchen, combined with canned lights, makes the space warmer than the canned lights would alone. If multiple TDDs are installed in a space, reducing the use of electric lights, it also reduces the room's heat gain, says SolaDesign Systems, another maker of TDDs. This can save even more electricity and money by lessening the need for air conditioning.
If you don't like the way the TTDs look from the inside, you can always recess part of the ceiling and then install multiple ones, so that they go fairly unnoticed.
Tell us: If you could install a tubular daylighting device in one room of your house, which would it be?
More:
Expert Lighting Design Secrets
Get the Lighting Right: 8 Mistakes to Avoid
12 Ways to Light Your Kitchen With LEDs
Tell us: If you could install a tubular daylighting device in one room of your house, which would it be?
More:
Expert Lighting Design Secrets
Get the Lighting Right: 8 Mistakes to Avoid
12 Ways to Light Your Kitchen With LEDs