Choosing Between a Tubular Skylight and a Regular Skylight

Most of us would welcome more natural light into our homes, which is where tubular skylights like Solatube, and traditional skylights come in. While similar in purpose – that is, to provide more daylight into a room – these roof and ceiling fixtures bring sunlight into the home in very different ways.  Both have varying functions and characteristics, with accompanying pros and cons – everything from cost and energy efficiency to light control and aesthetics – and different homes may benefit from one more than the other.

Solatube skylights are essentially tubes that tunnel sunlight into the home.  Instead of providing a direct line of sight to the sky, a Solatube skylight will capture light on the roof and disperse it into the room below.  Traditional skylights, at their most basic level, are glass windows facing the sky. The sunlight is not diffused like with a Solatube skylight, but is instead directly shone onto the floor area below.

Solatube skylights offer ease and practicality for installation, while the installation of traditional skylights is usually more intensive, costly and takes longer.

Solatube skylights are especially advantageous in spaces that lack wall windows and do not get much natural daylight, as they will disperse natural light throughout an interior space.

Skylights, on the other hand, provide more concentrated light that can also heat up the home.

Solatube skylights control the type of light energy that gets through.  Specifically, the advanced technology in the dome on the roof generally blocks UV rays before they get into the tube itself.  This means that any light dispersed throughout the home will not cause any damage to carpets or furnishings.

With regards to cleaning and maintenance, since the top of a Solatube skylight is domed, it is difficult for debris to stick to one. In general, there is very little cleaning or maintenance needed as it is rare that anything  other than snow or other short-term accumulations would obstruct the sunlight from getting in.

On a traditional skylight, debris that collects over prolonged periods of time can also increase the likelihood of leaks, which are relatively common with skylights.  For this reason, they may require a fair amount of maintenance and cleaning. Solatube skylights come with a no leak guarantee so you don’t have to worry about leaks at all.

With all this in mind, please take a moment to find out more about tubular skylights by visiting https://www.solatube.co.nz/