solatube - solar tube skylight installation how-to
at a recent art festival, we came across a booth showcasing solar tube lighting, something i’d been interested in for a while. we signed up for a professional installation of solatube solar lighting by solartex, a local austin dealer. i’d researched solar tube lighting in the past, but found the notion of cutting holes in my roof a bit too daunting for a self-install.
the very friendly solartex installer, aaron, mentioned he could teach me how to install them myself if i was interested. little did he realize i’d then be following him around with my cameras, documenting his every step…he was a great sport and grinned throughout my pestering.
the result is a how-to photo essay of professional solar tube installations:
first, one must choose the appropriate size solar tube for the room. solatubes come in 10 and 14 inch sizes. we decided on a 14 inch solatube for our kitchen / breakfast room area. it gets some natural lighting from north and south windows, but we end up using overhead lights in the morning and early evenings.
here’s the kitchen with natural lighting from north and south facing windows
ensure you have ample room between joists in the ceiling, then make a center point hole with a drill
draw and cut out a 14 inch circle
eyeballing the center of the circle, use a measuring tape to find a matching center point on the roof
drill a hole from the attic, then find the hole on the roof. use the dome skirting to trace another circle.
cut circle piece from the roof
installer hint — when you get close to completing the cut, grab the piece so it doesn’t fall through your ceiling below!
remove roofing nails around sides & top of hole
cut shingles to create water channel
caulk the underside of the dome housing to ensure a watertight seal. he used two tubes on this one.
lift loose shingles and place dome housing under
screw down to roof
measure distance to ceiling below
build reflective tube to length using solatube’s “spectralight infinity” sheets
here’s the solar tube with the protective plastic still in place
once plastic is removed, the tube makes a great fun-house lens
attach the top section of the tubing
insert the tube down the dome skirting & screw into place
just look at that Raybender® 3000 Technology!!!
dome’s fresnel lens
install metal reflector in northwest corner of lens to grab more rays
attach dome lens to roof mount. that’s it for the roof!
there is an amazing amount of natural sunlight pouring down the tube
slide ceiling mount up and tighten screws into place. reflective-tape the seam with the tubing in the attic.
add diffuser plate. the solartex installer gave us two options for it.
one was a flat diffusion. we chose the multi-lens option which looked waaay cooler…
using the exact same camera settings as the first kitchen photo, this photo illustrates a quite significant increase in light!
with auto settings, here’s the kitchen after installation of Solatube light
we’ve been enjoying our solatube natural lighting for weeks now. it’s amazing how much light the tube directs into the room…we still catch ourselves turning around to “hit the switch” on our way out of the room… i would highly recommend the solatube natural lighting skylights to anyone looking to add a bit of “green” lighting to their home.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Hi there. Great page. You mention Austin, safe to assume the one in Texas, yes? I would love to install one of these in my house to brighten a dark hallway. How do they perform in Canadian climates? If there is anyone you could recommend in the Toronto area selling this product, I would appreciate the info.
Thank you in davance.
Rick Proctor
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Howdy Rick! Yes - Austin, Texas that is. A dark hallway is a perfect use for these solar tube skylights. You’ll never have to switch a light on again during the day. I have to assume that they will perform very well in Canadian climates, as ours puts out a good amount of light even on very overcast days. The technology that the Solatube brand utilizes (proprietary dome, reflective tube, and dome reflector) seems to suck all the available natural light down the tube and into the house. That’s what they sold me on, and I have no reason to believe their product isn’t the best at it. I wouldn’t want more light, actually, than we get with these tubes as they can be amazingly bright at times.
As for Solatube dealers in your area, I did a search on their website and found these Toronto dealers. If these aren’t near you, just put in your zip code in the search box and it will give you more local Solatube dealers. Good luck!
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
1. What was the total cost break up for your 14 inch light? It would be great if you can split it between product cost and installation cost.
2. Also - I am planning to use two of these in my living room. What are your thoughts on this.
3. Another website said that these may make soft ‘clicking’ sounds sometimes due to contraction and expansion in tne heat. Is it true?
Great tutorial btw - way better than the one on lowes website
March 9th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Hey Rahul! Sorry I’ve been off the website for a while. The 14″ ran somewhere in the $5-600 if I remember. Installation costs are around $150, plus there may be costs added for additional length of the reflective tubing if your run from the ceiling to the roof is longer than the length included in a normal install (something like 10 feet). The length of that run would be something worth measuring yourself to allow an installer to give you an accurate quote, or to know how many panels to purchase if you’re installing them yourself.
We purchased our Solatubes at a local arts & crafts festival that SolarTex Austin had a booth at. They were offering significant discounts on installation for those that signed up in the booth. You may check your local Solatube dealer’s website to see when they might be showcasing at an “event” or having an open-house, as they will likely be providing discounts.
These would be great in a living room, and two 14″ will provide a LOT of light. Be prepared for having a fully lit room during the day. They do offer an electronic dimmer that I think works like a shutter in the tube. You may consider this option as I can imagine there might be times in a living room where you might need to control the light level.
I’ve never heard any clicking noise from these. Not sure what others have experienced but we’ve had these with weather in the 20s - 100 and haven’t noticed any expansion or creaking noises.
Thanks! I’m glad that this information & pics help.