Stored M/H , plus Solar light tubes for Bungalow

[Tony50]

Stored motor home , put plastic Mouse trap boxes around wheels , and , put 2 sprung Mouse traps under bonnet .
Now looking at Sun light tubes that go through the roof into the lounge , that perhaps will increase light into Bungalow we are buying, trouble is I have seen them in Halls and bathrooms , but , not in Lounge which is 32 square metres in size , if anybody has experience of these advice would be appreciated , Velux roof windows , and wall windows cannot be fitted

 

[tonka]

Had one fitted maybe 15 years ago. Was to the upstairs landing as really dark being right in the centre of the house and house was extended all around it. Improved the area for me but doubt I could recommend it for a lounge or large space living area.

Maybe use wall mirrors to help reflect the light, this was another thing we did on the stairs / landing.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Being a roofer i heve fitted a few.
If you have dark corridor or room with no light they make a difference. In a room that is just dull and in your case quite a big room they make little difference imo. Why cant you fit velux roof windows?

 

[Tony50]

Hi Simon. Me not being a Roofer, and no experience of Roof build the Trusses are between 550 mm and 600 mm spacings and 2 of the would have to be cut back to the Roof Ridge as the lounge goes in that direction also the top roof angle is 72 % the ceiling is horizontal so would have to splay sides when boxing down from Window to top of ceiling and how I look at it more Trusses would have to be removed to get the spay in , also pipes from Boiler in garage run across ceiling to water tank and criss cross pipes for radiators and cold supplies to shower room and bathroom, I think it to be a real problem, but what do you think ?

 

[Minxy]

I've looked at 'sun tubes', 'solar tubes', etc (various names/types, for our lounge as we have one small frosted window from when the bathroom was in it (we completely remodelled our place so it was moved) and just a patio door so we don't get as much light in as I'd like. There are various options for the roof with some using just a flat piece of acrylic on the outside whilst others have raised dooms sometimes with prisms too which tend to give more light due to refraction/reflection etc. In order to make much of a difference you'd need a few though so I haven't done it.

I don't think you can beat the amount of light you'll get in with a single Velux type window and this may actually be cheaper and easier than you suspect especially if you equate it to the cost of several light tubes and installation.

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[St3v3]

I was considering a light pipe for our stairs after the extension required the window to be blocked up. In the end I fitted this:

Rubbish pic, but it works really well. It's a 600x600 LED panel framed with architrave.

30W, and 30 quid so you could run it for decades before you match the price of a light pipe lol.

Fitted in minutes, won't leak and works at night. No brainer.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Tony the easy bit is fitting the windows you can get velux that fit between trussed rafters the problem is all the ancillary work regards the pipes. Perhaps have a local builder to see if achieviable . But the sun tunnels wont make a great difference in my opinion.

 

[Tony50]

I've looked at 'sun tubes', 'solar tubes', etc (various names/types, for our lounge as we have one small frosted window from when the bathroom was in it (we completely remodelled our place so it was moved) and just a patio door so we don't get as much light in as I'd like. There are various options for the roof with some using just a flat piece of acrylic on the outside whilst others have raised dooms sometimes with prisms too which tend to give more light due to refraction/reflection etc. In order to make much of a difference you'd need a few though so I haven't done it.

I don't think you can beat the amount of light you'll get in with a single Velux type window and this may actually be cheaper and easier than you suspect especially if you equate it to the cost of several light tubes and installation.

Thanks for your comments, it is a project we will take some time over

 

[Tony50]

Tony the easy bit is fitting the windows you can get velux that fit between trussed rafters the problem is all the ancillary work regards the pipes. Perhaps have a local builder to see if achieviable . But the sun tunnels wont make a great difference in my opinion.

Thanks for your advice and I think I'm going with that. Just looking at options . Thanks again.

 

[Minxy]

I was considering a light pipe for our stairs after the extension required the window to be blocked up. In the end I fitted this:
View attachment 441014

Rubbish pic, but it works really well. It's a 600x600 LED panel framed with architrave.

30W, and 30 quid so you could run it for decades before you match the price of a light pipe lol.

Fitted in minutes, won't leak and works at night. No brainer.

Funilly enough, that was another thing I've considered, not for the lounge but for our inner hallway which has no windows, just the light from the other rooms when the doors are open or what comes through the glass doors from the lounge and entrance hall. I actually saw some 'in use' last year when we were considering changing the kitchen cupboard doors so looked at a local independent kitchen showroom which had no external light in one of their display areas. I remember mentioning them to the sales chap and asked if they were sun tubes or lights as I couldn't tell, they were indeed lights and extremely effective.

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[St3v3]

Funilly enough, that was another thing I've considered, not for the lounge but for our inner hallway which has no windows, just the light from the other rooms when the doors are open or what comes through the glass doors from the lounge and entrance hall. I actually saw some 'in use' last year when we were considering changing the kitchen cupboard doors so looked at a local independent kitchen showroom which had no external light in one of their display areas. I remember mentioning them to the sales chap and asked if they were sun tubes or lights as I couldn't tell, they were indeed lights and extremely effective.

The same kind of thing comes in various sizes of round lights as well, if you'd prefer.

 

[TheBig1]

we fitted a few when I was working, and not all gave the effect desired, plus act as a chimney with heat from the room. The very best one we installed was designed for the property by an architect for himself. The dome was built of a UPVC 4 sided structure with very high quality double glazed self cleaning units. The tube/duct/tunnel was insulated well and lined with similar glass that had been mirrored and was splayed out in all 4 directions. We had to build the structure then make plywood templates for the mirrors, which took weeks to make. The result with the tube painted brilliant white was fairly good, but superb with the mirrors in. A year later we were called back to install an electric blind

As I recall the trays were made up out of fibreglass to waterproof the roof

 

[Tony50]

Funilly enough, that was another thing I've considered, not for the lounge but for our inner hallway which has no windows, just the light from the other rooms when the doors are open or what comes through the glass doors from the lounge and entrance hall. I actually saw some 'in use' last year when we were considering changing the kitchen cupboard doors so looked at a local independent kitchen showroom which had no external light in one of their display areas. I remember mentioning them to the sales chap and asked if they were sun tubes or lights as I couldn't tell, they were indeed lights and extremely effective.

Hi thanks for info

 

[Speve]

We had a light problem in our kitchen and installed an LED light panel it works really well it’s 1200mm x 300mm and has a remote control to change light from varying degrees of colour and brightness.
It’s great on dull days as it’s a really sunny day glow when needed.

 

[Minxy]

The same kind of thing comes in various sizes of round lights as well, if you'd prefer.

Many years ago before sun tubes were developed I was thinking of changing the loft access hatch 'board' for a double glazed window panel (I have one from when we replaced a window) which I could put frosting on and then install a roof window of some sort but the issue of loosing heat etc was always a concern so it was never done.

Ideally if I could fit a square light like yours into the access hatch board it would mimic what I was attempting to do with the window panel (without the need for the roof window) but I'm not sure it would be safe/sensible as we'd still need to open it occasionally to access the attic. Having fitted one do you think this is a possibility as I don't really want to cut another hole in the ceiling?

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[Speve]

Minxy Girl take a look at these they fix to ceiling and give good light.

LED Panel Lights | Lights.co.uk

Flat LED panel lights, in 600x600 and many more dimensions. RGB ceiling panels and panels with backlight available, optionally dimmable. Visit now!

www.lights.co.uk

 

[TheBig1]

Many years ago before sun tubes were developed I was thinking of changing the loft access hatch 'board' for a double glazed window panel (I have one from when we replaced a window) which I could put frosting on and then install a roof window of some sort but the issue of loosing heat etc was always a concern so it was never done.

Ideally if I could fit a square light like yours into the access hatch board it would mimic what I was attempting to do with the window panel (without the need for the roof window) but I'm not sure it would be safe/sensible as we'd still need to open it occasionally to access the attic. Having fitted one do you think this is a possibility as I don't really want to cut another hole in the ceiling?

The LED panels come as 2 types, to fit in suspended ceilings in place of a board, or surface mounted, so no hole needs to be cut

 

[St3v3]

Ideally if I could fit a square light like yours into the access hatch board it would mimic what I was attempting to do with the window panel (without the need for the roof window) but I'm not sure it would be safe/sensible as we'd still need to open it occasionally to access the attic. Having fitted one do you think this is a possibility as I don't really want to cut another hole in the ceiling?

No reason you couldn't, provided the loft hole is more than 600mm square. Mount the LED panel to your existing hatch, and they usually have a connector between the panel and the driver if you needed to remove the hatch completely for access.