[crash]

Originally Posted by rivaridger1

The soar tubes we put in both our unlighted Villa bathrooms brought the day inside and had us reaching for a switch to turn them off at first when exiting. No leaks and no muss nor fuss when done by The Solar Guys. A " Guarantee " on the workmanship s well. I had my doubts at first but am very happy with our decision to use them.

I agree 100% no replacement for natural light.

[crash]

Originally Posted by Paper1

Famliy Handyman had nice article on a DIY tube installation. Pretty straight forward. Not sure what the savings are doing it yourself but guess 50% plus.

Not if Toymeister is correct had a 10 and 14 inch installed for $1300. DIY saves you $150 and no guarantee on leaks. Is it really worth $150 to go into the attic, cut holes in your roof and ceilings I think not.

When the Solar guys did it they had no mess captured all the dust at the ceiling.

[crash]

Originally Posted by tagjr1

A 9 watt equivalent LED light would use less than $5.00 of power annually! Plus it can be turned on and off as needed, while with solar you are at limited by the weather and night time. Do the math, the payback won't happen in our lifetimes. The only ones benefiting from solar tubes are the manufacturers and installers, but hey, it's your money, spend it as you wish.

For most people who have this done it is not about saving money it is about getting natural light into a room that does not have a window.

[lobster610]

I totally agree Crash!!!

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by crash

Not if Toymeister is correct had a 10 and 14 inch installed for $1300. DIY saves you $150 and no guarantee on leaks. Is it really worth $150 to go into the attic, cut holes in your roof

Oh you save more than 150.00
A Velux this moment is 365.11 on Amazon. Basically you are paying double price. If you want you can have it all and add a led light in the light tube for night time use. Cost of kit is 65.00

[Jannygirl]

We had two installed right after we bought our house. They are fabulous. I have one in the laundry room and I don't need a light in there at all anymore and one in the kitchen area. They now offer lunar lights also which gives you a nice tax deduction and lights up both areas all night

[NoMoSno]

We wanted to install a couple in dark areas.
Then our neighbor had one taken out by a golf ball.
Maybe if they would make them golf ball proof, or we get some better golfers (not going to happen)...

[tagjr1]

Why is it so important to get natural light, via a solar tube, versus light from a low power consuming/ low cost led bulb?

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by tagjr1

Why is it so important to get natural light, via a solar tube, versus light from a low power consuming/ low cost led bulb?

If I take your position a step further, why is it important to have a window when there is no view?, when a low cost led will provide light at no loss of R value? Fans can provide ample ventilation after all.

[tagjr1]

Egress comes to mind.

[charmed59]

We have four in our house. I love them. Two are in places where there is no window and the light switch is just not convient. It's great to wander into the closet or Roman shower without backing out to find the light switch.

One is in the laundry room, and during the day the light is much better than when it is dark outside and I'm using the lights. It makes it easier to see what stains I need to treat. The laundry room is also our hallway to the garage, and it's nice to not have to search for a switch as you are coming in with groceries.

The final one is in the kitchen. With all the lights on during the day the kitchen was just not bright enough. And again, I don't have to track down the light switches to empty the dishwasher in the morning.

Adding the solar lights was much cheaper than moving all the switches.

[tagjr1]

I took care of the reaching/fumbling for the light switch by replacing the original switches with lighted ones. Only costs $7 each and took about 10 minutes each to install. No tracking needed. Moving switches would never be a consideration.

[tagjr1]

I have never seen a bathroom without some kind of light, except maybe a latrine.