The human brain is wired to adjust our preceptions of light to neutral, which is why a film photograph taken under florscent or incandescent instead of natural light looks so odd. Even the color daylight changes radically-- much more radically than most of us preceive-- in the course of the day. Dawn light is the 'pinkest', noon more blue, dusk is golden. Even with 21st century ability to manipulate images, professional photographers will tell you outdoor portraits shot in the very early morning will yeild the nicest flesh tones. It will be interesting to see if any consensus emerges here. But if you are in search of dinner party conversation, try this: is an increased ability to clearly preceive the colors of light a sign of artistic sensitivity, or merely a case of having faulty white balance?

If time is a problem, do a search on the Velux site to find a Velux dealer for the Suntunnel. They have both rigid and flexible, as well as a choice of a low profile version if it will be on the front of the house. There are several places that carry Velux around our major metro area--mostly at window dealers or lumber yards. After checking the Velux web site, you could call around to see about Suntunnel availability. Some places carry the Velux sky lights, but not the Suntunnel, so check on line to decide which kind of Suntunnel you might want--some they might more readily stock than others. Anne

Tubular Skylights are not all the same. Use common sense and do a little research on each manufacturer page and it will be very clear. The Solatube Brand has patents that make it the brightest and even deliver more HOURS of daylight. This is simply because the tubing is the most reflective (99.7%) AND the dome on the roof uses a fresnel lens (think lighthouses) to capture more light early and late in the day. If you want to change the white light (full spectrum daylight) to a warmer color, add theatrical film in any shade of ivory or auburn that you want. Yes - I work for a company that carries Solatube (in WA) and if they didn't do a terrific job with our gray skies, we wouldn't be celebrating twenty years. Less than 3% of our customers choose to change the color by the way. AND We HAVE GLASS ceiling lenses! TIP - A tubular skylight should ALWAYS be installed for less than what you would pay for a traditional box skylight. Use the 10" in smaller rooms and the 14" in larger rooms (kitchen/living). Don't place between you and the TV if you watch TV during the day (unless you add an electric dimmer). Same goes for a bedroom.

We put one in our bathroom downstairs. Had it for maybe 4 or 5 years now. Works great, it's mounted inside the shower which is white tile, so nice sunny environment there. It lites up the whole bathroom well, even at dawn and dusk, which kinda surprised me. Saves a lotta electricity as the florescent lites took up about 80 watts and they were on/off numerous times per day. We bought the one with the light fixture in it for night use, I installed a 13 watt florescent in it and it is plenty of light for the bathroom at night. I guess you get the idea, I'm very happy with it! We have 2 more bathrooms upstairs, our master which has windows, and a guest that does not, even thou this bathroom does have an outside wall, I'm still leaning towards another Sola Tube for this bathroom, as the bathroom is just not used enough for the expense of adding a window, and the Sola tube will lite it up real good. HTH's! Gary