Have you thought about using solar tubes? We're thinking about using them to lighten our new kitchen. The ones I have seen are only about 15 inches in diameter and have a light in them for night time use. On the downside, someone once mentioned that they look like little spaceships glowing on your roof at night. If we do use them they will be on the back side of our house and not visible from the street.

I don't think I'd mind the "spaceship" look, but a friend who has several reminded me that they are always "on". . .even with very bright moonlight. . .could be a plus or not.

I have a small kitchen (13 x 11) and one skylight, however, it isn't nearly as big as you are planning for your kitchen. It does let in a lot of natural light, and in the spring I can look up and see the beautiful blossoms on my cherry tree. I think skylights are a great idea -- just carefully consider how big you want them to be.

The kitchen is still a work in progress, but here are some pics so you can see the skylight.

We knocked out our living room wall, and got rid of the window in our kitchen, so put in two skylights instead. I love them! It would have been very dark in our kitchen without them.

Happy2BHome and Patti,
Thanks for the pics. Another question: How do you clean them?
Or do you worry much about that?

Here is ours. It was added when we did the kitchen . We have 2 more in the sunroom adjacent to the kitchen that you can see staright ahead, that were there from the 80's. I have 5 more in the house. I get on the roof with a bucket and squeegee a couple times a year and clean them. The inside I just use a long handled dust thingy to keep them dusted....hmmm...I may need to clean the inside too LOL. Had not done it before. We have an inside kitchen so this is our only way of adding light. I LOVE them.

{{gwi:612474}}

happytobehome,

in your photo it look like you have a GE Cafe range, is that true? How do you like it so far? we are soooooo conlicted which range to buy. I would love a more pro range like a GE monogram, American Range, Wolf, etc but can't afford it. Right now trying to decide between the GE Cafe and the Jenn Air Premier Line Pro Style (like the GE Cafe, it has the electronic touch pad on the front)...
Thanks!
Stacey

oldalgebra -

I have old, sticky, difficult windows with mullions which makes cleaning them a pain, so once a year I hire window washers, and they do the skylights too. They get plenty of rain also, so they don't seem to get as dirty as regular windows. As trailrunner said, the inside gets dusted between visits from the window washer.

oldalgebra:
You don't say where you are in CA, but I think a huge skylight will make it too hot in summer for most of California. I have two solar tubes in my little kitchen because the only window is in shade all the time and like yours, it was like a tomb, and they bring in a HUGE amount of light. When the sun is directly on them it's like a spotlight almost! And they add no heat. I love them!

Carla in Sac

My kitchen is dark,too. I would love to have a solatube. I wonder how tall the roof can be? My kitchen is under the steepest part of our 12/12 pitched roof. Can they be installed in a tall attic?

Will you still have space for the electrical fixtures in your kitchen? I have a skylight in mine and it is very hot under it during the day. But I have a much bigger kitchen. You can also have shades and window treatments installed on the skylight.

Good luck!

We have 2 Solatube Skylights in our kitchen and absolutely LOVE them. They let in ample amount of light and the best part is i don't have to worry about keeping the window clean since i am a neat freak. Good Luck!!

{{!gwi}}

A lot can depend on how big the skylight you choose is in relation to the room. Also, where you place the skylight. Putting the skylight in the middle of the ceiling will give you general illumination. On the other hand, if you locate the skylight immediately adjacent to a wall, it can dramatically highlight some feature on the wall, such as a doorway, an artwork, or simply light up the dark end of a room. So many people think only in terms of a skylight in the middle of a ceiling. It doesn't have to be. Think about where you want illumination for dramatic effect, or to light up a work area or some special feature. An appropriately sized skylight, strategically placed, can be a real asset in a room, regardless of the room size.

See images 4 and 5 in the link below for two good examples. Image 4 shows a skylight is in the middle of a room for general illumination. Image 5 shows a skylight against a wall to highlight a doorway for dramatic effect.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bruce Avico Architecture - Skylights

We wanted dark cabinets and soapstone in an L-shaped small kitchen with no window. The 2x4' skylight made it possible. Our house has trusses in the attic that you cannot mess with, so we ended up with 4 squares. There are coffers on the ends and in the middle section that hold fluorescent lights. The second photo shows the soft light they give off when it is dark or cloudy outside. I'm near San Jose, CA and the whole works was heavily insulated.

-Babka

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Athomewith3, which size Solartubes are they?

We put two SunTunnels in our kitchen, also one in the stairwell to the 2nd floor, and another in the 2nd floor bath since it has no exterior window.

We chose 10" rigid tubes since they refract the light better over a longer tube (one of our kitchen ones had to go through a closet in the 2nd floor to get to the roof. If we hadn't chosen SunTunnel (from Velux), we would have used Solatubes, since both seem to be of good quality. The advantage of the SunTunnels is that they have 2 styles: one is lower profile and looks better on the front of the house. The other looks like the Solatube and sticks up in a less attractive way, but gets the sunlight better.

The only thing I would do differently would be to get larger than 10" for the kitchen, since we had longer runs to the roof for these 2, and also had to bend them a little more, thus losing some light.

I LOVE them!!! And in the north, we hardly lose any heat through them in the winter, compared to what would be lost with a sky light.

Anne