Solatube Daylighting System
Written by Jennifer Heyns
Solatube International, Inc., located in Vista, California, has developed a new lighting system that can draw natural sunlight through a tube and into sections of your home where currently no natural light exists.
The Tubular Daylighting Device (TDD) is made of highly reflective material that absorbs a maximum amount of sunlight from your home’s rooftop and carries it through a tube into whichever area of the house needs the added daylight. The idea behind the TDD is to eliminate the need to turn on any electric lights during the daytime hours.
Solatube claims that their device is so easy to install that a professional can do it in two hours and the average homeowner can accomplish it in a day as installation requires no structural reframing, tunneling, drywall, or painting.
Because the TDD can eliminate the need for electrical lighting during the day, Solatube considers this to be a “green” product. Not only will you save a little on your energy bills, but exposure to an increased amount of natural sunlight boosts your own energy and increases your mental acuity.
Unfortunately, sometimes an overdose of the sun’s rays can also damage things like the vibrancy of fabric colors and skin cells. The folks at Solatube thought of this, too, and have made their TDD to block out all UVB and UVC radiation and over 95 percent of UVA. Additionally, the devices come with a dimmer switch so that you don’t have to have all of the sunlight absorbed by the TDD in your room all the time; you can control how much light you want at any given time.
The TDD can also come with a few add-ons of modern convenience. The TDD only works during the daylight hours, but you can buy one with a light kit attached so that at night it becomes a regular electric light. You can also get it with a vent kit installed as well. The idea is that you won’t have to have several devices installed across your ceilings -- imagine a small bathroom with a ceiling light, a ceiling vent, and a TDD. This way you just have the one device and it can function as all three things.
On the inside, the device looks like a white disc that is nearly flush with the ceiling with a patterned glass panel in the center. You can put several in a room, but each one must have its own tube and rooftop dome. The company says that each TDD lets in as much light as a large skylight, but the TDD is small enough to fit between your rafters.
Having TDDs in your new home can also earn you a few LEED points toward certification. Unfortunately TDDs don’t eliminate your need to install conventional lighting in your home, but it can definitely decrease your dependency on them during the daytime.
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