Hi,
I am debating about installing a Solatube or similar product; however, I live in the interior of Alaska and for the following reasons I am uncertain if it makes sense to use this type of product:
1. +150 degree temperature range with non-record-breaking temperatures in the Winter time going below -50F and average daytime high in the -20F’s to -30F’s. Will the freezing / thawing mentioned in some of the other posts from the last few years be a factor for here? –leaks developing?
2. Potential for five to eight months of winter with two to three feet of packed snow on the roof. Would there be enough heat-loss from a 10″ or maybe ~21 size be sufficient to melt off the snow?
3. In the middle of winter we have around 3.5 hours of twilight and ~3.5 hours of low-latitude / low-horizon sunlight (we are around ~65 degrees latitude). Are the lumens worth it …if the snow stays off or melts away?
Thanks for any insight..
Replies
Greetings Steve,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someones attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
I don't know the answwers to most of your questions, but I have two solatubes that I put in my house. As for the minimal winter light... I wouldn't count on it helping much. But, during the lighter half of the year you'd still get a lot of great light.
Just a thought... How about building a light chimney? I've never done it, but I've read that there are some good plusses to them. If you put venting windows in the side or sides of the top those windows can be opened for cooling on a hot day. The chimney could be built so that the windows were high enough to be above winter snow on the roof.
Good luck!
"A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel." Robert Frost
The interior? Tok? Chicken?
How about installing transparent baffles to divide the tube into segments, limiting heat loss (like segregating air masses in dual- or triple-pane window).
If I recall the winter darkness and perpetual summer sunlight correctly (Anchorage: 1979 - 1981), I'd want to install a removable plug of installation to keep the heat in during the long winter months. And if the light tube was anywhere near my bedroom, I'd probably keep it plugged on summer nights so I could sleep. Great in a kitchen, solarium, or Alaska Greenhouse.
Loved Alaska! Hope you do too,
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Edited 8/14/2005 11:38 pm ET by jazzdogg
Edited 8/14/2005 11:49 pm ET by jazzdogg