Although Ian missed us, a friend of mine had the top of her solar tube ripped off resulting in some water damage to her home. I would like to think this is unusual. But, I wonder how these tubes might stand up if a real hurricane made a real hit on our area!

Just a consideration to keep in mind. I personally like these.

We have 4 and they are great.
We took advice from the installer and he recommended both bathrooms, the laundry area and the kitchen. When we said we thought there should be one in the dining/lounge he advised against this. The reason was the unwanted glare on a TV. We have enjoyed the extra natural light. Well worth the investment in our opinion.

Yes great investment. We had 5 installed and very happy. Plus 2 solar attic fans

They were already installed in all 3 of the preowned homes we have lived in. We found them to be beneficial in lighting smaller dark areas such as bathrooms, dressing area, hallways, laundry room. I agree that one in a large open area, such as a living room or kitchen is not too effective. There was a medium size one installed in our kitchen which, as a previous poster suggested, seemed to serve only as a dull lightbulb. When we reroofed, we replaced it with the largest available and added a second large Solatube. The result was a nice bright kitchen.

A suggestion, consider spending a day or so touring open preowned homes of the models similar to yours to see how tubes may have been placed and how effective the lighting may be. Learn from other people's mistakes and use the best of the ideas.

We have seen them installed in closets, but I don't know if the extra light would have a long-term fading effect on tops of the hanging clothes.

We have owned a home in The Villages for over 25 years and never had a leakage problem with the tubes. We have replaced several of the domes because they yellowed after 10 or 15 years.

Solar tubes great addition
 

I hated my dark living room. I had 2 solar tubes installed by The Solar Guys. I chose the faceted top that throws rainbow arcs sometimes. I love them. Best of all the improvements I had done.

We have a Begonia model and have installed 4 solar tubes. Love them. We used the Solar Guys. Two of ours have night lights also

Yes and no
 

We put one in a dark room and like it BUT with clouds it's bright it's dark it's ....
get one with a night light to get the tax write off but it's minor

Exactly! We have a Lantana that faces south and have solar tubes in the two bathrooms and the kitchen. The kitchen one provides ample background light for the entire living area. For our model, we think having one in the living area would be too much direct light. We used Solar Guys and received a tax credit for installing ones with a night light in the bathrooms.

What are the avg costs to install the solar tubes?

that seems way out of ordinary , in 2007 I went through the tornado that came through villages , it tore much of my roof off , solar tube w as intact, when the roofers came to install new roof they just lifted up the tube a little and put shingles on and sealed around the tube , friends bought that home there still in it with no problem and I think I installed those tubes in 2005, I also have a cousin living in a home in south Florida that I owned , I think they’re were put in there around the year 2000 , there still working through a bunch of hurricanes , this is my last post on this unless the solar guys pay me lol , FYI Some people are under the impression that you get these kind of large bright search light glare , I rarely watch any daytime TV except foot ball and I’ve never seem to have a problem , I think someone told me something about tv equipped with a non glare , whatever , but my last house was on a golf course with the sun coming down and with the solar tubes , and while watching football I liked to keep sliders open no problem

Have 2 - moved the solar night light away from the bedrooms and into the kitchen

Check their work!!
 

I had a solar tube installed by the Solar Guys. A month later I decided to install a ceiling fan in the same kitchen area. I was going to install it myself. Access to the area meant climbing over HVAC tubes and roof trusses in the attic and was a challenge to get too. What I discovered made me shocked me. The Solar Guys installer had done a very poor job. The solar tube was not lined up correctly and sealed so bugs kept getting in and only partial light was coming down the tube. The installer had cut a few HAVC hangers but had not rehung the HVAC lines so they were lying on the ceiling. The installer had cleared insulation around the area but had not replaced it so there was no insulation on our kitchen ceiling. I called and spoke to a Solar Guys manager who offered NO compensation for me fixing this bozos poor installation. BEWARE...these guys never imagined I would go up and check their installation. Another case of workers taking advantage of what they perceive as old folks never gonna know they did a half ass job!!!

We must be the outlier, but ours leaked for years during a hard rain. Tried all kinds of sealers but after a while, it would go back to leaking. We have an aluminum roof, so that must be the problem. Maybe wood roofs expand and contract less than aluminum. Sorry, I guess I answered my own question. Anyway, if they are not leaking, then the solar light does brighten up an area.

We have an Iris that was quite gloomy. Solar guys installed a solar tube in the Kitchen over the island, in the gloomy dining area and in the guest bathroom.

No need for a tube shutter in our home. We like the solar nite light they installed that leaves a glow in the solar tube at night. The guest bath now has real daylight. Great for checking colors. The only downside I have found is that our decorator was horrified by the color temperature of the light. We found out that filters are available.
Also, the nite lites have to be replaced and the lites may need cleaning periodically.

We had the Solar Guys install 2 solar tubes in the main living area of our designer home (a Veranda). It is perfect. We added night lights that are solar powered; I was skeptical at first but they are welcome addition. Do it you will be pleased with the Solar Guys. If you're still skeptical go to their showroom in Belview on 441. It is an interesting educational experience.