Solar Tunnel

The importance of light

Light is one of the main elements of human life, a well-lit room makes the space bigger and more comfortable. One factor that affects the brightness of a room is definitely its exposure and the presence of openings, whether there are balconies, windows, skylights that allow the entry of light inside the spaces.

However, there are apartments or only part of them, that have no openings, for this reason they are completely dark and are defined blind environments.

Within these areas we try to compensate for the lack of natural light entering the systems of artificial lighting, but it can sometimes be very expensive.

Through the installation of a solar tunnel we can bring natural light into the blind room or poorly lit, such as hallways, blind bathrooms, closets and stairwells.

How is a solar tunnel

The solar tunnel is a tubular skylight made up of three parts: the collector, the duct and the diffuser.



The first is positioned on the roof and it usually is a real dome with the function of collecting the solar light constantly. From it the light is channeled inside the duct, which propagates to the reflection up to the room to be illuminated.

The duct is a tube of variable length, coated with reflective material. In the ending part of the duct there is the diffuser, a simple ceiling light in plastic or crystal, that can transmit and diffuse the light in a natural way, while maintaining the chromatic scale and intensity of the rays.

The sun tunnel can be installed on all types of roof, floor or ground water, made with any roofing material, sheathing, roof tiles etc., The important thing is that it is oriented to the south so as to be able to capture more sunlight.

The company Lightway® with the series Crystal realizes a type of solar tunnel, in which the cap absorber is made of sodium and potassium glass, an excellent material from the optical point of view and outstanding from the point of view of the life cycle and its resistance to atmospheric agents, even in critical conditions.

The shape of the Lightway Crystal dome is designed to optimize the yield even in overcast days, thanks to IRGC technology (Intelligence Ray Catcher Glass).
The cap has the ability to capture the 30% more of light than the classic skylight. It also has excellent mechanical and chemical resistance and during rainy days, it has an effective self-cleaning capacity. The same company offers a variant of the material with the Silver series that provides a cap in plexiglass, shock resistant to temperature and to weather conditions.

At the base of the cap in both types there is a flashing without seams to prevent infiltration of water, suitable for flat or inclined coatings.

The tunnel or diffuser is equipped with anti-reflective optical layer based on titanium oxide. The presence of the glass diffuser, allows to increase the power of 15% compared to the plastic diffuser as the return of the light inside the tube is significantly reduced.

The ceiling at the end of the duct for transforming the dark rooms in lit rooms by sunlight in a simple and efficient way with significant energy savings.

Moreover, the presence of sunlight helps to eliminate the phenomenon of tired eyes caused by the lighting power and limit the emergence of diseases due to the artificial lighting.

Another company that offers the solar tunnel as a solution to reduce artificial lighting inside the dark rooms isVelux. In the version for pitched roofs the solar tunnel can be installed on roofs with a slope between 15° and 60°. If the roof pitch is less, you should instead install a solar tunnel for flat roofs.

The basic kit of solar tunnel for pitched roofs comprises a tunnel drive of 1.95 m and two adjustable curves. With additional extensions and curves can be achieved, with a good yield, distances up to 10 m.

To exploit the hole in the tunnel and illuminate the spaces when there is no natural light it is possible to install inside the tunnel a light kit, which comes with a LED lamp from 4 W. In addition to the ceiling placed at the end of the tunnel can be applied a black darkening element, similar to a real curtain that let you obscure the room when needed.