Sun Tube

[ddawg16]

Not garage related.....but can be.

We have a hallway in our house that is dark....real dark. So dark, if our black lab is laying down in it, it's easy to step on him.

So, over the past weekend, I installed a 10" sun tube. I already have 2 of them in the house...one in the middle bathroom with no window and one in our walk in closet.

It cost me $262 with a 6' tube...and took me about 3 hours to install. This one also include a night light which is charged during the day off the sunlight.

I'll let the pics speak for themselves. The garage connection? For those who don't want windows, this is a great way to get some light into the garage.

BTW....I took these pictures yesterday evening at 5:30.....and slightly overcast. At noon, it's almost too bright.

 

[txvwnut]

I thought about putting a couple of those in my house but I'm not too sure about the dome and Texas hail.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Nice!

 

[ddawg16]

I thought about putting a couple of those in my house but I'm not too sure about the dome and Texas hail.

The dome is curved....and really thick. I'm pretty sure it will survive just about anything Texas weather can toss at it. (BTW...I grew up in Hurst)

Here is a link to the company I bought the light from. Mom and Pop business....

https://skylightguys.com/solar-tube-tubular-skylights-sun-tube-sky-light.html/

This model is Natural light....other options are Velux and SolaTube.

I got a quote for SolaTube...over $500 bucks.....

I talked to the guy at SkyLightGuys and asked him why "Natural Light". His response, "I don't have to go back for warranty repairs."

The first one I installed is 9 years old...0 issues.

Amazon is selling the same light for about $30 cheaper.....but...right now, I'd rather give my business to anything NOT Amazon.

 

[Ray-CA]

You do have to be careful where you put them, or rather what you put under them. A neighbor of ours had a rug ruined due to sun fading.

They’re pretty cool though.

Ray

 

[ddawg16]

You do have to be careful where you put them, or rather what you put under them. A neighbor of ours had a rug ruined due to sun fading.

They’re pretty cool though.

Ray

Rug? Carpet? Not in our house....we have dogs and cats...

I'll never have carpet again.....

 

[James-W]

WOW! Sure brightened up the hallway.

 

[Red 17]

We put 5 Sola Tubes in when we remodeled in '02-'03. Had one leak due to the water washing up the side in a heavy rain storm. Glued down a rain diverter, problem solved. They do get cobwebs in them, but are easy enough to open up and clean. So far, knock wood, they are holding up in California sun. They sure brighten the house. Laundry, interior hallway, entry/kitchen closet, and an interior bath. An excellent idea I wish I had thought up....

 

[theoldwizard1]

So, over the past weekend, I installed a 10" sun tube. I already have 2 of them in the house...one in the middle bathroom with no window and one in our walk in closet.

It cost me $262 with a 6' tube...and took me about 3 hours to install. This one also include a night light which is charged during the day off the sunlight.

These are great, especially now that they have solar light for night use.

You do know you can write that cost off as a "solar installation" ?!!!

 

[rok_hunter]

The dog looks pissed about losing his sleeping hallway [emoji1787]

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[bradpac]

We have a couple in our house. One in a hall way just like that lights it up great. It has a normal light bulb wired into it so it's the light fixture at night as well.

 

[CraigStu]

I like the idea because the pics show it really works. But I am very much against holes in roofs so I will just install a light fixture.

 

[ddawg16]

I like the idea because the pics show it really works. But I am very much against holes in roofs so I will just install a light fixture.

Why? You have holes for vents. The flashing for this thing is a beast. It's not going to leak.

 

[nh_yota]

My parents installed two of them in their house when they had the roof redone ~15 years ago and they have worked out great. One is in the kitchen and the other is in the main bathroom; the one in the bathroom has an incandescent light inside of it.

 

[ScaldedDog]

We have two of them in the house, and one in the barn (metal Morton building). The one in the barn does leak occasionally.

Mark

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[Git]

We had thought about those solar tubes but I was also concerned about roof leaks and sunlight damage. I am glad we didn't - wafer led lights are fairly inexpensive to purchase, very easy to install and the cost to operate are negligible. Glad it worked out for you though

 

[oldwino]

I spec’ed some of these in a commercial office I designed. Used defusures to spread the light for a large space. Seldom use the interior lights except during winter after daylight savings time

 

[shoot summ]

We had a Sola Tube installed in 2017, really like it, great light source in an otherwise dark room(my office). We will likely have more installed, no issues with the carpet in my office, and no issues with hail damage here in OK.

Similar experience buying wise, great local company, owner actually installed it.

Was pricey compared to what you were quoted though.

 

[ddawg16]

We had a Sola Tube installed in 2017, really like it, great light source in an otherwise dark room(my office). We will likely have more installed, no issues with the carpet in my office, and no issues with hail damage here in OK.

Similar experience buying wise, great local company, owner actually installed it.

Was pricey compared to what you were quoted though.

Mine is by "Natural Light". About half the price....and still has a 25 year warranty.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You do know you can write that cost off as a "solar installation" ?!!!

Friends of mine did a MAJOR kitchen upgrade. Removed a wall, inserted a beam, massive granite counter tops, etc, etc. Multiple $$,$$$ ! They also install a couple of operable skylights, powered by solar w/remote control. The entire job got the solar tax rebate ! Very significant !!

 

[GreyOwl]

We added one of these to our home back in SW Kansas and loved it. The roof got hailed out twice by baseball to softball sized hailstones but didn't faze the dome assembly.
Trying to decide whether to install one in our kitchen here in Vegas but since it would be on the Western slope, I think the heat gain would be too much.

 

[ddawg16]

We added one of these to our home back in SW Kansas and loved it. The roof got hailed out twice by baseball to softball sized hailstones but didn't faze the dome assembly.
Trying to decide whether to install one in our kitchen here in Vegas but since it would be on the Western slope, I think the heat gain would be too much.

I don't think you will have an issue. I have one that faces the south and I don't feel any heat from it.

Side note.....

The 'night light' option I ordered for it came today. I installed it this evening...so it had maybe 2 hours of minimal light to charge. I'm impressed with the light output. It's enough so we can see our black lab laying on the floor. Before, you couldn't see his ***....We stepped on him more than once.

I'll report back tomorrow night as to how well it's working after a full day of charging.

 

[yeldogt]

Think they have a place -- I'm not really fond of the look on my roof. They provide very concentrated light. Same with skylights --- remember the first time I used skylights ... got them in and I hated them. Expensive mistake ... thankfully it was a new build.

Good LED lighting is expensive .. but getting cheaper. I just tried out some 3" deep recessed down lights from aculux $140 ... impressive. Cost nothing to run ...

 

[GreyOwl]

I don't think you will have an issue. I have one that faces the south and I don't feel any heat from it.

We always felt some heat radiate from the one we had and it was on the North slope.
I need to find someone out here to see if it really is any problem.

 

[ddawg16]

Had a chance to check out the night light feature......

I'm impressed. I installed it yesterday evening....so it maybe had 2 hours of evening sun to charge. Was dead by midnight.

Today was overcast sun.....

It's 2am....and still well lit. The light is perfect for navigating the hall to the bathroom.....and not stepping on poor Noir....

 

[Rickss96]

Have had one on our roof for almost 30 years now. Have forgotten the brand but I 'think' it was Sola Tube. Installed it myself, seemed straight forward if you are kinda handy around the house. Had good instructions so just followed those to the letter. Had the roof re-shingled several years later and the roofers had no problem working with it. So far no leaks! I'm located in SoCal so have no problems with hail like you guys in the Midwest do. But did find one thing that would crack the dome; had a workman up on the roof awhile back and he stepped on the dome and broke it

It was a real hassle getting a replacement before the winter rains began.