Save £ on your electricity bills.

Solatube sun tunnels keep energy costs down

As energy prices continue to head through the roof, I thought it might be helpful to explain how Solatube sun tunnels might be able to help reduce both your lighting and heating bills. Don’t get too excited though – this isn’t a magic bullet that’s going to slash your cost of living. However, taken in conjunction with other measures, all these smaller steps can add up to bigger savings.

Turn off the lights and cut your electricity bill

This is the most obvious one; if you find that you are leaving your lights on because it’s not light enough in your home, then clearly a Solatube sun tunnel that pipes free natural daylight in to your dark rooms is going to help. And please be clear here, we’re not talking about just a wee glimmer of extra light; Solatubes deliver masses of extremely bright daylight – enough to light up a whole room so that you can read and write in it all day long. I know it’s difficult to believe when you’ve not seen one in action before, so please take a quick look at a few of my ‘before and after’ videos to get a better idea of how bright a Solatube really is. Video Gallery

What you should be certain of is that a single Solatube can really make a massive improvement to how bright a room is. Therefore you won’t need to turn the lights on again during the day, hence saving money on your electricity bill.

Keep the heating down low and save on your energy bill

I imagine we are all starting to think twice before turning up the heating too, but it can still be quite cold at this time of year. So, in addition to taking a critical look at the insulation of your home you might also want to consider the thermal properties of a Solatube sun tunnel.

If you are thinking of getting more daylight in to your home using Velux style roof windows or skylights, then think again. These forms of daylighting require a much bigger penetration through your roof which are typically not that thermally efficient. A sun tunnel or sun tube is much smaller, but delivers as much, if not more, light. Plus a Solatube sun tunnel is also far more thermally efficient than Velux style roof windows and skylights. You can find out more about this benefit of Solatube sun pipes in my previous blog here.

So, just remember that a Solatube sun pipe is a far more efficient, not to mention, more effective way of delivering daylight in to dark areas and brightening up your home.

Solatube ECO achieves Passive House standards of insulation

The Solatube® ECO sun tunnel has even better thermal and acoustic properties and is suitable for passivhaus construction. Due to the thermal insulation of Solatube® ECO, you keep even more of the heat inside your home and your boiler doesn’t have to work as hard. By minimising the cold spots that windows, skylights and Velux roof windows create, the indoor temperature remains far more stable, and more comfortable to live and work in.

Hence you can help reduce your heating bills by improving your homes’ insulation and using Solatube sun tunnels to introduce daylight in situations where they are far more appropriate than a Velux style roof window or skylight.

Solatube sun tunnels and Solatube ECO can both help reduce our energy demand and hence save money on our bills, by delivering light inside whilst keeping the heat in and the cold out, particularly when used in conjunction with other home insulation and sustainable ideas.

1. Excellent thermal and acoustic insulation

1. Suitable for low carbon, energy efficient ‘passive’ building

1. Daylight system takes up little space on the roof. Handy to combine with solar panels or solar water heaters.

And if you have any questions regarding this or any other aspect of a Solatube, then please feel free to get in touch.

Across the south and west, Solatube Southwest is the recognised distributor and installer of Solatube sun tunnels (or light pipes), from Bournemouth down to Plymouth and beyond.

If you are interested in bringing natural light into your home, why not contact us at Solatube Southwest; 07989 976 010) to find out whether a Solatube sun pipe can help you. Typically, a fully installed system might cost anywhere between £900 – £1,200; that’s supplied, professionally installed and includes the VAT.