Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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Seen them on grand designs a lot and thought they'd be ideal to brighten up my very dark stair/landing area.
Does anyone have experience with these?
They basically appear to be 2 bits of circular glass (one in roof, one in ceiling) with reflective sheeting joining them. Seems an effective way of getting natural light into dark areas.
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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Seen two in peoples house and will be helping the g/f's dad fit one into their downstairs bathroom next year (no natural light/window)
They really do make a difference and let in a load of light.
Installation wise I'm not sure on the roof side but g/f's dad is a builder and said it wasn't a big job.
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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cheers allan. I haven't seen any in real life so wasn't sure exactly how much difference they'd make, so it's good to know that they're worth it.
Hoping my dad would install it as he's into everything 
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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Better if you have a south facing garden but even not they are still worth it. Quite a bit of info on the net about the sqft of room and sizes need. Your dad sounds handy so leave him to work it out 
There is a site somewhere that shows a factory floor that is lit up by many sun tunnels. Must have been worth it to save £££ per year on lighting.
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Dave
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Registered: 26th Feb 01
Location: Lancs
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I fitted 4 at a school in Leicester, it was some time ago though.
I think they were Sunpipes, they were basically a flat sheet that you rolled into a tube and then they connected together with a continuous seam. We had some problems because it was a long way from the roof to the classroom ceiling and the pipes were only held together with silver tape so they kept coming apart under their own weight so we had to rivet them, in a a house this wouldn't be much of an issue though.
Roof wise it's simple enough, they come with a flashing kit to suit whatever roof covering you have and the give out a decent amount of light, I'd say roughly equivalent to a fluorescent light fitting on a sunny day. Obviously they won't be as useful at this time of year though.
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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Cheers dave. As you can see, it's not a huge area at all:
rear of the house is south facing, so should let a decent amount of light in.
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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Don't know if that smoke alarm is off the main but to save messing with wiring I'm guessing you want one about here:
Should light up that area and stairwell nicely.
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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Yeah fire alarm is connected to the mains. Very annoying when the electric cuts out
That area was my thought also allan. Seems the easiest. Take the shelves down obviously.
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Neo
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Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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I've got one in my shower room. Annoyingly though it was a cheap one made from plastic so when the wind blows it slams. Need to put some sealant or something on it to stop the movement.
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