Tubular sky lights

For Blackwater Overlook it appears that 18" tubes will be best. There may be as many as three in Highland Prospects, with each one blasting 1,400 watts max depending on the time of day, the season, the weather, and which side of the roof. The principle here is to take sunlight into a reflective cylinder, bounce it around the silver plated aluminum cylinder until it maximizes, and pour it into the interior through a diffuser or a prismatic lens.

Each skylight costs about $300 and of course several hundred to install. The payback is lower energy use during daylight hours, plus a very pleasant spectrum of natural light in a space that normally would be using florescent.

Placement is important for maximizing light. The angled flashings allow placement on north facing slopes (the front side of the building) while having a chance to grab some modicum of sunlight. The south facing roof slope (backside) of the building is the perfect location for Photovoltaic panels, but also the the tubular skylight exits. Hopefully next week we will get that valuable 'real estate' divvied up and there will be room for a couple of these sky lights. The company is run by a buddy of mine and is located in Arizona. Super helpful VP named Elios gets these things properly configured and shipped. The company is NL Tubular and here is the product spec.