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tsherman_gw

Any pics of solartube or suntunnel, installed?

tsherman
15 years ago

We were considering adding a solartube in the FR, but just realized it may be an option in the kitchen too. I'm concerned it will be a bright spotlight on the ceiling (but not sure that is any better/worse than adding a bunch of new potlights.) I'd love ot bring more natural light into the room. We have 8' ceilings so it will very much be in your line of vision. Has anyone added a solartube or a sun tunnel to their kitchen? Are you pleased?

Thanks!

Comments (22)

  • debsan
    15 years ago

    Don't have one in my kitchen, but we did install one one in a dark hallway upstairs. It's awesome. Wish we'd done it sooner. I'd like to add another and I'm thinking of putting two in my dining area. Attractiveness wise, they aren't any worse than can lights, but the light is free! On moonlit nights, we even get a little glow, which in a dark hallway is very nice.
    One more thing, the diffuser can affect the color of the light, so make sure which ever one you pick doesn't have an odd color. My diffuser makes the light appear cool like a florescent would. I would have preferred something warmer, but my model (Velux brand) doesn't have any other diffusers available.

  • sarahandbray
    15 years ago

    My in-laws have a SolaTube (is that the brand name? can't remember) that they put in a bathroom a few years ago--adding an addition on the back had taken away the window from this bath. If you don't have any place for windows, I guess it's an OK choice. To me, during the day, it looks like a flourescent circle in the ceiling--in it's defense, it's pretty bright, so if you really need light, it might be an option--but I have a weird dislike for anything with that white, flourescent light, so it's just not for me.

    What's weird is the way it's mounted on the roof--I'm not sure if all installs are this way, but it has a little plastic dome that looks maybe 6" high off the roof--reminds me of that plastic sky-charting dome we used in 8th grade Earth Science. It's definitely noticeable and kind of odd looking. The funniest part is when someone is using the bathroom at night, we look over (live next door to the in-laws) and see this bright, glowing orb on their roof. Cracks me up for some reason.

    Just mentioned that in case the kitchen is in the front of the house or if a glowing orb on your roof would bother you at night.

    :)
    Sarah

  • tsherman
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Sarah, that's exactly what I'm worried about - the fluorescent looking spot on the ceiling. I'm wondering if that is due to the brand/filter/construction, or if that's just the way they look. There seem to be many posts from people who are thrilled with them, but not many pictures of how the light really looks in the room. (I've come not to trust the pictures on the manufactures websites!)

    We are leaning towards the Velux brand, but I'd love to see something in person so I could better understand what things would look like. The color of the light is a minor issue compared to the glare.

    This would be on the back of the house so the "glowing orb"
    wouldn't bother me!

  • rmiriam
    15 years ago

    We just installed four of them a couple of months ago (yes, I go overboard!). We love them - I keep going into rooms to turn off lights. The coolness of the light doesn't bother me - I think the quality is similar to the light coming through the windows.

  • tsherman
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Rmiriam - do you have any pictures? Do you know which brand you used?

  • mississippirose
    15 years ago

    Hello there! We have had SolarTubes for over 10 years!! We love them and have helped our local people sell them. Most folks are down right paranoid about cutting a hole in their roof. This construction is full proof. We have 8 of them and one has a light + exhaust fan in it. The only trouble we had was when the roofing company screwed them up and the SolarTube company had one of their trained people come out and repair them.
    It is recommended that they are installed on the back of the house so the "bubbles" aren't visible from the road.
    What is really awesome is in a thunderstorm at night...what a light show.
    I'd be happy to help out and can send photos as well.
    Carol

  • 2ajsmama
    15 years ago

    Carol - DH wants a solatube in the bath (only have light built into shower stall and light in fan - forgot when I swapped the toilet and shower on the plans to put a window in the exterior wall in that 4x9 compartment). I was worried about voiding my modular's warranty on the roof. Can you tell me anything about that?

    We also live in a very cold climate and I've never heard of condensation being a problem, but with this near the shower and full soffits in the attic (unconditioned space) this really would be a concern.

  • socalusa
    15 years ago

    We have a solartube in our kitchen (which will be left in place for the remodel.) We have 8' ceilings and it adds light where before we had to always turn on the overhead lights.

    One photo is of the solartube unlit, no extra lighting and the other is with the adjacent lights on. The view from the outside shows what the light looks like from our backyard - no one has ever noticed it - nor do we. (Although in the outside picture it looks like a little space man. lol)

    We are possibly going to add another one during the remodel.

  • sprengle1
    15 years ago

    I have a friend who has two 10" solar tubes in her kitchen. They look like recessed incandescent lights with a cover over them (for the type of light). I'll be there next week and try to remember take a picture of them.

    I like hers enough to want to put one in our remodel. But we need a few corner pieces and almost 10' of extension to do it and that made the cost prohibitive. I think they are great!

  • mississippirose
    15 years ago

    tsherman, I assume you meant from the inside so I have pics for you. Kitchen, laundry room, and great room. Of all the tubes, the one in the laundry room made a huge difference. It was a dark cave. One thing, you may have to take the shield off occasionally (if it's not sealed well) to empty out bugs that can get in there. I have one out of 7 that does it. We have NO regrets at all and enjoy the free light.
    How do I add photos to this? Help.

  • lululemon
    15 years ago

    We are getting one installed on Monday in our stairway. If you like I can post pics Monday night of what it looks like, both during the day and at night. Ours also has a light bulb inside so it will be the only source of light.

  • patti823
    15 years ago

    Can anyone tell me the cost of the Solatube, including the installation? I'm considering one for our bath with no windows. Thanks!

  • jimandanne_mi
    15 years ago

    We have two 10" SunTunnels (Velux) in our kitchen due to having a 10' front porch that cuts off some of the light from the kitchen windows, and I LOVE them. Someone had said that in a large room, 2 would look better since the light would be balanced, and I agree. These are on the front of the house, which is why we got the low profile (linked below).

    We also have one in the stair well (WONDERFUL!), and another in the 2nd floor bath (no window there). I'm kicking myself for not insisting on one in the powder room (got tired of arguing with DH). We got the other style (like in socalusa's picture) for these, since they're on the back of the house and this style gets a little more light into the house.

    If we hadn't gotten the Velux SunTunnels, we thought the quality of the Solatubes was also good and might have gotten them.

    Anne

    Here is a link that might be useful: low profile Sun Tunnel (Velux)

  • ncamy
    15 years ago

    Is it true that you can link two of these together to the same outside bubble. We will have an upstairs bathroom with no window that is adjacent to a dark staircase. If we put one in both locations they will literally only be 5-6 feet apart.

  • jimandanne_mi
    15 years ago

    Don't know if you can or not, but it seems like you'd really be reducing the amount of light. The straighter they are, the more light you get.

    Our stairway and 2nd floor bath SunTunnels are only 5-6 feet apart, maybe slightly less than that, and they're fine!

    Anne

  • lululemon
    15 years ago

    patti823 - we paid about $1000 canadian for ours. It is a 14" solatube with an integral light kit so it can replace the light fixture currently in the space. That includes some tubing from the roof to the ceiling but I can't remember how much (I think it was 6' but that doesn't seem very long so I'm not sure). If we go beyond that distance the cost is about $5 per foot.

    The 10" one without the light kit was about $700. BTW those prices include all taxes and installation. HTH.

  • patti823
    15 years ago

    Thanks so much lululemon! I'm seriously considering one!!

  • lululemon
    15 years ago

    The install guy just left and I am very pleased. On his advice we did not install the light kit and moved the location of the tube toward in middle of the space to light the upstairs landing as well. I will try to post pics later if you are still interested but it looks basically like the one in socalusa's pics.

    I also have to admit a mistake in the pricing. The extra tube is $55 per foot (not $5) and the install only included 4 feet. Of course ours is located directly under the peak of the roof so we ended up with a 10' length for a total of $330 extra. The basic unit was $899 plus extra length plus tax came to just under $1300. The light kit was $110 but I am happy with the results without it.

  • kulagal
    15 years ago

    We have two Solatubes in our small cottage - one in the hallway which was so dark and now it looks like the light is on all the time! The second one is in the bathroom and it also has a light built in so that we can turn the light on at night. They are the best!

  • sautesmom Sacramento
    15 years ago

    I have 2 in the kitchen and one in my bathroom, and I also just love them! Half the time I try and flip the switch when I leave the room, only to find that the light isn't on, it's just the solartube!

    I bought mine at Home Depot and had the guy building my shed install them one day, so they cost me about $225 each (14 inch ones) and I was paying him $30 an hour for building. If you do find someone to pay by the hour, make sure they are qualified to be working on roofs, because an unlicensed guy with no insurance could be a big liability if he fell off the roof.

    I also just saw Costco has 10 inch ones for sale, I think they were around $130.

    Carla in Sac

  • sscottshiv
    14 years ago

    What kind of maintenance is involved?