Homemade Light Pipe

Light pipes, or light tubes, create ambient sunlight in interior rooms without the need for poorly insulated windows or in rooms where windows would be unfeasible (such as being surrounded by other rooms on four sides). Light pipes are perfect for brighting and greening any room in the house, and they are made from readily available materials.

Ventilation piping
Highly reflective material such as aluminum foil
Glass dome
Diffuser
Brackets with screws

Instructions

- 1
  Select the room in which the light pipe will reside. Typically, this should be a room on the top floor of a structure as longer light pipes will lose a percentage of the light passing through them.
- 2
  Scout the roof above the room to determine locations for the light pipe, and compare these locations to the room below. Find a place where it is possible to install the pipe without having obstructed light and where it will go with the decor of the room below.
- 3
  Assemble the light pipe on the ground. Line the inside with the reflective material. On the top, install the dome, which will help to collect light such as a Fresnel lens and block harmful UV rays. Install the diffuser on the bottom of the pipe.
- 4
  Drill and cut a hole in the ceiling and roof where the pipe will go. Favor being slightly too small for the pipe as it is always possible to enlarge the hole, but it's much harder to shrink the hole.
- 5
  Support the pipe in the hole once it is fitted. Use the brackets inside the roof and the ceiling to hold the pipe in place around the hole. In other words, drill the brackets into the pipe, and then drill the brackets into the underside of the roof and the top side of the ceiling to hold the pipe in place.

Geothermal Vs. Forced Air Gas Furnace

The Cheapest Ways to Dim Fluorescent Lights

Energy Efficient Homes