Skylight Alternatives

Sun Tubes

• Sun Tubes are metal pipes that supply natural light by reflecting sunlight on sheet metal. A clear acrylic dome on a home's roof is connected to highly reflective sheet metal tubes that lead into a room's ceiling. Sunlight enters the dome and travels through the metal tubes, which reflect light down to a see-through ceiling diffuser. Sun tubes have leak-free pre-engineered flashings just like skylights, but are less expensive to install.

Heliostats

• A heliostat is a special mirror placed on a roof that reflects natural light when it rotates. Some heliostats are manually operated; most heliostats are generally controlled a computer, which is programmed with the latitude and longitude of the heliostat's position, as well as the date and time. The computer uses the programmed data to calculate the direction of the sun in regard to the mirror's position. After the computer pinpoints a position, it sends a signal to the mirror's motor, causing the mirror to rotate in the direction of the sun. The mirror reflects the sun onto another strategically placed mirror which sends the light directly into a home or building.

Light Shelves

• A light shelf is a piece of metal attached inside of a window to reflect natural light into a room. The light shelf, which has a highly reflective top surface, is positioned above eye-level on a window that faces the sun. The sun reflects on the shelf's surface and penetrates into the room, causing a flow of natural light. The shelf also reflects light from snow in the winter. Light shelves are usually made of aluminum that can be painted to blend into the exterior décor of a home or building.

Clerestory Windows

• Clerestory windows are vertically positioned glass pane windows that are generally placed high above eye-level just below the ceiling of a room. Clerestory windows are arranged in rows to emit the most sunlight possible into a room. Strategically placing or altering them produces different effects. For instance, if you desire more sunlight in a room, but less heat in the summer, you can add awnings to them. Or, install them on the north side of a home or building to reduce the amount of sun they emit.