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Tag: Solatube

  • Plan Home Renovation with Solatube Skylights

    Plan Home Renovation with Solatube Skylights

    Plan Home Renovation with Solatube Skylights

    If you want to create a healthier home through renovations, Solatube skylights are a fantastic solution. Introduce more natural light into the home to make the space brighter and happier, and as a means of lowering your overall electrical lighting use during the day. Solatube skylights can reduce energy costs, improve the look and feel of a space, and create a healthier home.

    If you’re considering renovating, Solatube skylights are a cost-effective way to improve overall levels of natural light. Below, we’ve listed a few considerations to guide you through choosing Solatube skylights during your upcoming home renovation.

    Budget and design aesthetic

    The first consideration for your project will be your budget. If you aren’t working with an unlimited budget, talk to one of the specialists at Hometech to get an opinion on ideal Solatube placement. We can come to your home and consult with you on how best to light your home.

    Solatube provide natural sunlight through their high-tech design. Prisms deflect harsh light to provide a consistent level of light through the day. For areas of the home requiring different types of lighting, we can add a dimmer switch so you can brighten or dim your Solatube as you like (particularly good for living rooms!). You can also add an electric light fitting for use during the night, to make any trips to the kitchen or bathroom well-lit and safe.

    Location and limitations

    Another key benefit of Solatube skylights is their ability to disperse greater levels of natural light throughout a home in comparison to windows or traditional bulbs. Dual Lens Array technology within Solatube incorporates special lenses that spread the light right around your room. This is why one Solatube can make a substantial difference even rooms that would traditionally require multiple, harsh lightbulbs. This also provides greater flexibility with where you want to position your Solatube skylights.

    When you’re planning your renovation, Identify the direction and quality of light received by your home during the day, as this will help determine placement and any limitations of your home’s positioning. Look at how your preferred daylighting system integrates with your existing structure, and how you’ll fit these in to the finished home.

    How to create healthier spaces with natural light

    Hometech has helped thousands of Kiwis install natural light solutions in their homes, creating healthier environments for families across the country. Our Solatube skylights use cutting-edge technology to absorb and direct sunlight throughout your home, previously dark spaces will come alive for a brighter, healthier space.

    This is because our Solatube skylights are lined with Spectralight Infinity, a special super-reflective material that bounces light through the Solatube and into your home. A 3-metre long Solatube will only lose 3 per cent of the light it receives – the other 97 per cent is beamed straight into your home!

    If you’d like to talk to one of experts about your upcoming renovation, contact EGPHIL Solar Solutions today to learn more about our Solatube skylights and Solatube products, and how we can help you make the most of your home’s lighting.

    Original post: https://www.hometech.co.nz/blog/a-guide-to-planning-a-home-renovation-wi…

  • EGPHIL Solar Solutions are proud Bronze Distributors of Solatube

    EGPHIL Solar Solutions are proud Bronze Distributors of Solatube

    We are glad to share that our hard work has once again paid off as we recently acquired recognition of being Bronze Level Distributors in 2015. 

    Yearly sales may vary due to local economic patterns, but its sure that we explore all possibility to provide Daylight to our customers. 

    We consider ourselves blessed to represent Solatube and look forward to continue providing the best of our services. 

  • How Does Daylight Affect Worker Productivity?

    How Does Daylight Affect Worker Productivity?

    Boost Worker Productivity

    From the dawn of the electric age, scientific research has shown that access to natural lighting is one of the most important factors in boosting worker productivity and overall well-being. From silk weavers in the 1920s to workers in the high-tech offices and mega-warehouses of today, studies paint a clear picture of the vital need to provide employees with quality daylight.

    The impact of natural lighting on workers is widespread and comprehensive. These are just a few of the benefits revealed by recent research that compared worker productivity in artificial lighting vs. natural daylighting:

    • A Cornell University study of hospitals showed that nurses who had regular access to daylight exhibited better moods, laughed more and were nicer to their patients. They also communicated more effectively with their colleagues. Physiological effects were also evident, including a notable decrease in blood pressure for nurses working in natural light.
    • A Northwestern University study showed productivity gains tied to overall health. Workers who spent the day in natural light exercised more, reported fewer physical ailments, and slept for an average of 46 minutes longer each night than their colleagues with no access to daylight.
    • A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) meta-study revealed a huge range of benefits for employers who provided their workers with daylighting. Along with direct effects like a decrease in the “afternoon slump,” improved worker concentration and better mental focus, employers also reaped substantial tertiary benefits, including absenteeism rates that declined from 15 to 60 percent, turnover rates that decreased by as much as 200 percent, and productivity gains from two to 30 percent or more.

    Case Studies

    The NREL meta-study took an in-depth look at multiple companies to see what impact daylighting had on their worker productivity. Here are some of the results:

    • After building a new facility that increased workers’ access to daylight, Lockheed Martin reported a 15 percent increase in productivity.
    • VeriFone built a new daylit facility, in which workers reported a five percent increase in general productivity and an increase in product output of nearly 30 percent.
    • After shifting its office layout to increase access to daylight, West Bend Mutual Insurance saw a three percent increase in general productivity and a 16 percent increase in claims processing productivity.

    The Importance of Daylighting Done Right

    While increased access to natural light always leads to an observable improvement in worker productivity, studies also show how important it is to implement that lighting scheme appropriately. In some cases, new windows and other daylighting methods that introduced sunlight glare and thermal discomfort were found to nearly cancel out the net benefit entirely, and frequently became a fresh source of worker dissatisfaction and complaints.

    These issues can be difficult to overcome when a company takes an outmoded view of daylighting and focuses only on introducing windows or performing expensive skylight renovations. Fortunately, the introduction of Tubular Daylight Devices (TDDs) from Solatube International, Inc. has made it possible to mitigate these concerns.

    Through the use of innovative tubular structures that filter sunlight for UV rays and excessive heat, Solatube Daylighting Systems are able to provide workers with glare-free, comfortable natural lighting. TDDs are also substantially easier to install than traditional methods, as they don’t require costly construction and can be easily integrated throughout a building via relatively small rooftop units.

    To find out how companies can use Solatube Daylighting Systems to improve workplace productivity, visit Solaglobal today.

  • Solatube Daylighting System vs. Ordinary Skylights

    Solatube Daylighting System vs. Ordinary Skylights

    Why ‘Solatube Daylighting System’ is the most advanced ‘Skylight’?

    Skylights have been around in various styles for many years now and most of us have experienced a skylight at some stage during our life, whether it was a traditional square skylight, a tubular skylight or a plain old roof window.

    Whilst all of these varieties have been created with one purpose, to bring natural light into our homes, very often there are an array of issues that are associated with these products.

    Solatube has proudly been a world leader in skylight manufactoring for over 20 years (In fact we won the 1994 Design Awards for developing the worlds first tubular skylight) and a few years ago we set out to create a natural lighting solution that would change the way we think about daylighting.

    Now, using advanced optical technologies and a deep scientific understanding of the benefits of natural lighting, Solatube introduces the worlds first Tubular Daylighting Systems, designed specifically to overcome ALL of the issues previously connected with Skylights of all types.

    Heat Gain

    Traditionally because skylights filter sunlight into our homes there is an additional heat load placed on that room and generally the bigger the skylight or roof window the more heat is transferred. This not only makes your room more uncomfortable but also increases the need for air conditioning & other cooling measures. Especially during the warmer summer months when the sun is at its hottest.

    WERS (The Australian Windows Energy Rating Scheme) & the NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) use a measurement called Solar Heat Gain Coefficient or SHGC for short, to judge a window or skylight products energy performance in terms of the amount of heat transferred into a room.

    Unfortunately Skylights in Australia are not required to undergo the necessary testing to assess their SHGC performance. This means that as a consumer, it makes it difficult to compare Australian Skylight products effectiveness against heat gain.

    Solatube Daylighting Systems

    Our Daylighting Systems incorporate a wide variety of technological advances, including advanced optical technology in the dome, a patented protective coating on the tubing & a duel lens system in the diffuser, to name a few. We are proud of these completely unique system features and have had both of our 160DS & 290DS daylighting systems tested by the NFRC.

    Our results of 0.33 where so impressive, both our 160DS & 290DS Daylighting Systems were awarded the prestigious Energy Star label in the USA.

    Be aware some manufacturers will provide SHGC figures as some of the components they use have been tested individually. But these results would not be true for the system as a whole once it is installed. Be sure to check that any SHGC figures provided are for the ‘complete system’ installed, as ours is, rather than just a few of the components used.

    Colour Rendition

    Skylights often don’t transmit ‘natural light’ they can look a bit ‘off colour’

    Often, because of the quality of the dome, the tubing or even the diffuser, elements of the colour spectrum contained in natural light get lost in the transmission of the sunlight from the roof into your room. This causes the light to look yellowish, greyish or simply ‘off colour’. This discolouration means items in your home won’t look as intended. Coloured furniture and walls will look dull and lack the impact they once made.

    Solatube Daylighting Systems

    The optical technology used in the dome and the reflective quality of our tubing means that our Daylighting Systems transmit100% Colour Rendition, (with a 100% UV filter) into your home. This means you’ll get exactly the same light inside, as you see outside, which can truly transform the room. You can enjoy the colours in your home as they were always intended; bold, beautiful & natural. In fact our systems provide such quality results that they are the natural lighting product of choice for Architects and designers the world over.

    Light Output

    You can’t always control the light output with a Skylight

    Ever considered having a skylight installed but then realised you had no way to turn it off? Many people also find it frustrating that skylights can produce too much light during the mid-day sun when they need the light levels less.

    Solatube Daylighting Systems

    • Our Daylighting systems have been built with a variety of options available to you, the homeowner in order to provide exactly the control you need.
    • Our electric daylight dimmer, allows you to dim daylight from 100% down to just 2%, providing you with exactly the amount of light you want, no matter what time of day it is.
    • Our Glass Distractions, Decorative Fixtures range, allow you to choose the ceiling fixture and lighting effect you want depending on the ambiance or look you want to achieve in each room. Glass Decorative Fixtures also enhance the light output into the room, ensuring you get the purest of daylight into your room.
    • Our systems provide tested & measurable lighting outcomes. Which means we can provide a professional lighting design using daylighting solutions providing a consistent light output, regardless of the time of day or the weather outside, if that is required.