Sun tile or sun pipe?

[Quiggles]

I need to introduce a source of light into an otherwise dingy hall - without resorting to leaving lights on all day.

As far as I can see there are 2 options the Monodraught sun pipe -

and the Suntile sun tile (!) had a look at both at the Grand Designs show in London and of course the sun pipe appears to be much more sturdily built but has a price to match.

Does anyone in here have any strong thoughts on either route or have any other suggestions?

quiggles

[Owain]

Glazed door into another room?

Owain

[Tournifreak]

I can recommend the SunPipe. Not used the SunTile though. We had a sunpipe fitted as part of our extension about 6 months ago. It's fantastic. Seems well made and is relatively easy to fit. In bright sunshine, our landing is like being outdoors! Even in cloudy February it's plenty bright enough to see by.

Jon.

[sm_jamieson]

Something I wanted to know. Does the sunpipe tend to introduce heat as well as light - in hot sun, does it light up the extension and heat it up, or does the thing stay cool ? This is in light of summers getting hotter, etc. Simon.

[Quiggles]

Nope that won't work - all bedrooms and bathrooms off the landing - has to be another light source I am afraid.

[meow2222]

With the suntile you could presumably, in the case of the slate one, use an extension kit plus a piece of wired glass, and not buy their tile. Halves the cost and makes for sensible ROI. Would be important to seal the join up properly.

How robust does one need to be in an unused loft?

For some dark spaces there is another alternative. If you have any exterior window at all, a simple external reflector can put 2 suns onto that. The 2nd sun can send light up towards the ceiling, much more effective than direct sun heading for the floor, so even a smallish reflector can double light levels. Have done that, and it worked well.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes, but only a tenth of what an equivalent electric bulb, or about 1/4 of what an equivalent CFL, would do..