It’s good to have options – cream or sugar, chocolate or vanilla, hot or cold, window, or aisle seat. Making choices is what makes life enjoyable, enabling each of us to create a “custom experience” based on our own preferences. Solatube understands the importance of being able to choose; that’s why they offer three distinct skylight sizes, plus an array of other options that let you control how much light you receive as well as the brightness and intensity of the light, not to mention plenty of fixture choices so your skylight blends in with your personal style.

Kitchen Skylights
Kitchen Skylights

How much light?

Choosing the fixtures, diffusers and other options like dimmers is purely a matter of personal preference. However, when it comes to deciding which size skylight is right for your needs, you need to bear in mind some specific technical details – specifically, the amount of square footage served by each unit.

Deciding which unit is best for your needs is simple, and begins with the initial dimensions of the skylight unit itself. Solatube offers three sizes for its daylighting systems:

  • the Solatube 160 DS (10 in/250 mm), offering 19 sq. metres of coverage;
  • the Solatube 290 DS (14 in/350 mm), offering 28 sq. metres of coverage; and,
  • the Solatube 21-C and 21-O (21 in/530), offering 46 sq. metres of coverage.

Of course, these figures are estimates to give you a general idea of the size unit that’s best for your needs. There are other factors that can play a role, including the shape of your room, where the dome is placed on the roof, and how far the tubing has to travel from the roof to the room where the light is being received. The estimates above are based on an average 1.82m tube length and 2.4m ceiling height, with the dome being located in the direct path of the sun. One of the benefits of the Solatube system is that its tubing uses the world’s most highly reflective materials, so even at distances up to about nine metres (30 feet) from the rooftop, you can still enjoy natural sunlight with a Solatube skylight. There will be some loss of light the longer the tubing, so if your room is somewhere between one of the dimensions above, it’s probably better to choose the larger unit if you’re spanning a long distance.

And of course, the amount of light you receive will depend on the intensity of the sun itself, which is based not just on where the dome is located on your roof, but even on the season. Again, if you want to be sure your area is flooded with as much light as possible during the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky, you might want to choose a larger option.

Making the best choice

One of the best things about Solatube is their customer assistance. If you’re not sure which light unit is right for your needs, call us on 131619 or send us a message using our online form. We’ll be happy to help you make the best selection based on your needs and preferences.

2 thoughts on “Which Solatube Skylight Is Right For You?

  1. I’m looking at putting solar panels inside a room flat on tables pointing straight up towards a solatube light, basically because in high wind/tornado areas, solar panels are the first to go when wind speeds get moving. I figure with a dome sticking out of a roof I can build a cement block shed to protect the panels. My question is with the tubes: how high from my panels should I place the opening of the tube for the brightest light and the largest coverage?

    1. Hi Joe,

      At the end of the tube, closest to the surface of the Solar panel – 30-40cms of solarboard. We would recommend speak with the local Dealer in your area, to see what is possible.

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