Why you should not use Solar Tube Lighting?

Category: Tutorials

Do you know about solar tube lighting? If you are facing problems with dark kitchen, corridors, or dark alleys you need to do something about it. New installations to improve lighting in your home could be the right answer.

You may want to install skylights into your home. Skylights are opening on the roof to bring natural light into the house. Using light straight from the sun gives you many advantages.

First, you don’t have to worry about the electric bills. Second, sunlight has many health benefits. It keeps you healthy and active.

However, you might think about installing a solar tube lighting instead of a skylight. Solar tube lighting installations are cost-effective compared to the skylights. So, solar tube lighting may seem like a better option. But solar tube lighting has some disadvantages of using them. Before you install them, it is wise to know what are the limitations of solar tube lighting.

What are solar tube lightings?

Solar tube lights are 10 to 14 inches in diameter. They are cylindrical. At the top, the tube has a weatherproof plastic globe. Sunlight falls on this globe and passes through the diffuser. It spreads in the interior of the house.

The interior of the tube acts light a mirror and intensifies the light. As the light passes to the tube, pure white light spreads everywhere. Moreover, you don’t need to switch on the lights, it will come and go naturally with the sun.

What are the drawbacks to solar tube lighting?

After reading the information, you might think that solar tube lighting is the best option. But think before purchasing solar tube lighting, for they have their cons. Some of them are discussed below:

It needs a large space

If you are planning to install solar tube lighting, you must know that it requires a lot of space. So, not all homes are fit to install solar tube lightings on the roof.

Cost of the solar tube lighting

Although installing solar tube lightings are less costly compared with a skylight. But the price of the solar tube lightings is rising continuously. Because of this reason, many people chose to use electric tubes at home instead of solar tubes.

It can cause pollution

Many solar tube lightings use natural lighting from the sun, but it can still cause pollution. This is because certain types of solar tube lighting use batteries. When these batteries are not maintained in time, then it can pollute the surroundings.

Missing features compared with skylight

If you are using skylight, you can use it to get some fresh air into the air. There are many options of shades and diffusers available in the market. You get to see the sky from the pleasing room. Skylights are just like windows on the ceiling.

However, if you are using the solar tube, ventilating is out of the question, there is no sky view or shade. The light from solar tubes does not feel like natural lighting.

Skylights are an architectural preference. It can affect the interior atmosphere of the room. You can expect your room to have increased aesthetic values. Whereas solar tubes are small. They don’t have the same effect as the skylight. They are just light sources directed in a preferred way into your room.

Solar tubes need to match with your roof

If you want to install a solar tube for natural light, at first you will need to look for the tube that matches your home. Solar tube lightings can be installed in roofs that are pitched from 15 to 60 degrees.

If your roof has a flat roof, then you need to get a tubular model for lighting. However, there are roof types were installing solar tube lighting is not an option. For example, the A-shaped pitched roof cannot support solar tube lighting.

So, solar tube lighting is limited to only certain types of homes. Not everyone can use solar tube lightings in their home.

At this point, you know about all the drawbacks of installing solar tube lighting. We have also compared skylight with solar tube lighting. Now, it is up to you to decide which one suits you the best for your home. Both use sunlight to be diffused into your home. So, you may choose wisely after reading this article.