Sun tunnel question/opinion

[Sam]

In the day time my kitchen is kind of dark and I have to turn the lights on. I was thinking about having a sun tunnel installed. They say there are 2 types of tunnels from the roof. One is a shinny chrome like pipe, and another is a flexible shinny tube. My ceiling in the kitchen is about 4 feet from the roof/rafters. I have heard that these tunnels provide a lot of reflective light down with a diffuser mounted on the ceiling to disperse the light. I would appreciate your recommendations as to where I can buy one and your opinions on how you all feel about them. How long do they last and are they prone to leaking. Thank you all for your help.

[DanG]

You may want to go experience one that someone else has installed. My parents installed one in the kitchen for similar reasons to yours. Every cloud and every wave of a tree limb makes the "skylight" flicker. I did not care for the effect at all and would have zero interest. It was almost as though someone was flicking the light switch off and on. It must be something to which you become accustomed, they still have it (maybe just because they paid so much for it). YMMV.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Fred]

We had it installed in a windowless second floor bathroom. Huge difference and so bright when the sun is out. No tree limb above it though so there is very little flickering if at all - it does go bright and dark dependent on the sun but there is a top end model with its own internal light (perhaps it was solar too, don't remembered).

[DanG]

Instead of your comment that would appear to be directed at me, perhaps you should experience the situation of having the "skylight" directly over the kitchen table. I did not care for it while eating or playing cards. As I said, your mileage might vary. I do not see your comments about room windows being very related.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Rondy Zeller]

"DanG" wrote

This happens to my windows where the trees are, and every time the sky gets cloudy. Do you recommend removing the windows from the rooms, or cutting down all the trees. I suppose if I had all the trees cut down, a cloudy day still presents a problem. Guess there's no other solution than to block off all the windows.

[Rondy Zeller]

"DanG" wrote

Indeed natural lighting is a poor choice for directly over a table. The sarcasm remarks were in regards to, whatelse could you possibly expect from natural lighting? Of course you will notice clouds and shadows, well duh!

[bounce]

On Sat, 02 Apr 2005 21:15:14 GMT, "bill a" graced this newsgroup with:

....we've had ours since '97 and have had zero problems with it. It significantly increased the light in our upstairs hallway and gives quite a lightshow during thunderstorms. ;-)

btw..ours is the flexible reflective tubing. Looks like a big silver dryer hose in the attic.

[bill a]

I am a fan of skylights, but I have only installed them during remodels, when the ceiling structure was open anyway. I don't know that it is worth it to cut into a finish ceiling. Some $50? light fixtures can pretty well replicate the light qualities and they don't cause roof leaks.

fwiw bill