we are building a home with an interior kitchen and want to use a “sun tube” in addition to the normal lighting scheme. There are now several brands on the market to choose from and I don’t know how to make a quality choice with economy in mind. Is there a brand that you recommend? Thanks.
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Only ones I've heard of are called Kal Wall. They must be about the oldest, because hippies were using them in houses in the sixty's and seventy's when solar was the new thing. There is a web site, don't remember the name of the company, but you've proabably already seen it. Maybe if you search for Kal Wall.
Sun Tunnel, now a part of Velux.
My bad--gotta start reading these more carefully--I was thinking of the big tubes (like 12" dia X 8-10' tall) of clear acrylic filled with water to store solar heat. Not at all what the lady was asking about! BTW, Velux makes a very good skylight, so if they make these sun tubes to direct sunlight to a place, they're probably also good.
A friend just installed some of the Velux ones in his laundry room. They add a lot of natural light, but it does seem kind of cold--metallic, even.
It's not the same kind of light you get from a skylight, but it does brighten the place up. More like cool light filtered through clouds on a wintry day than warm summer rays.
Leigh
dan, we sold and installed SuntTunnels from '97 right up until Velux bought them..
the 22" is great is you have the room
here is a difficult installation thru TWO roofs...Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Helped a friend install one last year and he too did not like the coolness of the light color. Now, being in the commercial arts business I put my background to work.
We went down to our local camera supply store, bought a sheet of 1/4 CTO color correctiong filter and mounted it in the top of the tube behind the lens. The light is now a nice warm, 3800ºK in color anmd the bathroom looks bright as can be.
I like that idea!
Is there a color that's more correct than others in all situations? Is the filter you mention a good one for all rooms?
There really is no one correct color. The light coming through the tube is daylight which has a blue cast to it. I would have to guess that the lens in the tube and the reflective surface within add to the bluish color as well.
He chose the 1/4 CTO after looking at different gels that I pulled from my light kit. CTO warms up the daylight, 1/4 CTO adds just a touch of warmth without being too orange..
One thing to keep in mind is that you will always lose some light when using a gel. In the case of the 1/4 CTO, there is only a 1/4 to 1/2 stop lose in light transmission. Using a heavier gel would likely defeat the purpose of the tube by sucking up too much transmissive light.
I think you can also get 1/8" acrylic panels that could somehow be mounted in the tube as a color corrector. This might be a more professional solution as we really had to rig the gel to get it to stay mounted within the tube. I think Rohm & Haas makes a line of color correcting plastic sheeting.
Excellent idea! Wonderful, simple yet creative solution. You should submit it to Fine Homebuilding as a tip.
Leigh
Solotube? I don't really recall.
my 2c-Don't waste your time with a sun tube. It really only looks like a color corrected light fixture. Why not install a skylight? Even if you have trusses, a skylight can be easily installed for minimal cost. They will just drywall the side of the truss. If you wanted to dress it up, you could trim the truss members with finish grade wood and put a pair of skylights next to each other.
tim... there is no comparison between the two.. the suntunnel can be installed in about 4 hours or less.. no reroofing..... no plaster repair.. no trim
skylight ?... hah,hah, hah...
two different critters... if light is what you need go with the suntunnel.... if a view is required or ventilation.. then go with a skylight.. we sell and install both...
one can be done for say $600.. the other for $2000.. you decide.. or the customerMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I presented the options and figures for both to the client, gave her the Velux brochure and she called within 24 hours to request the tunnel. She's thrilled with it. The BR is 5x8 and we felt a skylight, with or w/o flared walls, would overpower the room (and required headering joists.) The tunnel throws just enough light in the room to keep it bright all day. I've been trying to figure out where I can add one to my own house. If I only had the time.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I just installed a Velux sun tunnel in a BR remodel a few months back. Took less than 4 hours to do by myself (no framing required) and was quite easy to do. It added a significant amount of light, so much so I would try to switch off the lights when I would leave, but the only light in the room was from the tunnel.
The diffuser in the room is just that, it is not a clear piece of plastic, so you cannot look up into the deep blue. It's kinda like a port hole in the ceiling, not very obtrusive, and a simple install. Spring the extra $20 and get the more impact resistant lens, which is Lexan, I believe. They also have light kits that can be wired and installed in the tunnel, but it seems a little iffy to me.
We used the flex tunnel, which is easy to work with. I'm not sure how much more work is involved with the hard pipe.
Economy?? I wanted to install one over a stairwell with 15' of clear overhead, but fount I'd be out near $600 by time I was done. I wired in another light.
The High Desert Group LLC
I have two Solatubes - turned the two darkest rooms (both bathrooms) in the house into rooms where plants flourish. Solatube is a bit harder to install as it uses a rigid tube with adjustable angle connectors (like gas or woodstove pipes) but gets amazing amounts of light into the room (even moonlight) 'cause more is reflected down the tube and not lost in the ridges of the flex tubing.
We live in central CA and it gets hot here. Way too much heat gain from skylights - unless you do thermopane w/ low-e plus shades. The tubes (any style) dramatically limit heat gain while still transmitting the light. We'll be adding 4 when we remodel the kitchen/living room this fall.
The discussion about quality of light is interesting. Yea, it could be a bit cool but I like it. Could be that different brands give different color temps - haven't thought about that till now.