it depends on the roof line.

the tube reflects the light into the room... think a long tube with mirrors to direct the light through the opening.

if you bathroom is on the north or east side of the house you will get minimal return on the light it gives. Also the pitch of the roof affects the light. You hope to install the tube in a spot that gets the most natural light. I hope this helps some.

I have a solar tube over the desk area where I'm currently typing. It's a nice light, similar to window light. I usually don't have to turn on the real lights unless it's late in the afternoon.

I also have a skylight in my bathroom and absolutely love it

this faces south so it gets lots of sunshine.

If you can do the skylight, go for it. solar tube is next best (but you'll have to find out what the distance is in the attic space above your ceiling.)

Yes that is what I was wanting to know. If the light coming in from a solar tube feels/looks like natural light or does it just look like the same light a can light gives off. You feel like the light from the solar tube feels like natural light?

We put a solar tube in the interior hall bath, and in the upstairs hall, in our last house. We were very happy with the light quality, but it did change throughout the day and across the seasons, as it would with a window. After a few years, we were so happy with them we added one above the stairs, to balance out the light. But, we noticed that the light coming through the lens was different. Our installer (same company as did the first ones) said that was because the material used had changed. It wasn’t a dramatic difference, though.

When it snowed, all the solar tube light looked a little blue, until the snow was gone from the dome. And lightning storms were awesome. All this is like a skylight, I imagine.

This was all in 2000 and 2004.:

We loved that in winter, we didn’t have to turn on lights until 3 or 4 in the aftrnoon, and in summer not until 8 or 9! We had integrated lights in the hall tubes, and the bathroom tube had an integrated ventilation fan, then lights above the sink and tub.

I have a solar tube in a windowless bathroom. There is enough light that you don't have to turn on the lights during the day. The light does change during the day since there is a large tree in the yard next door. Kinda creepy feeling when the shadows move.

The quality of the light? There is a diffuser in the tube that is .... blue-ish. I contacted the mfg and got one they called "daylight" and it was amber and looked horrible.

I got used to the blue cast.

IMO you need both soalr tube and can lights since the solar does not work at night . I think just can lights LED 4000K bulbs is all you need .

We just added a solar tube in our upstairs kids' bath because we couldn't add a window during a remodel. I really like having natural light, and it's surprisingly bright during the day. We also have cans and sconces though. It feels like natural light to me. I like how our builders did it--the tube is up and behind the vanity area so that the light is more diffused.

It's a gray morning here but you can see how much light is still coming in. Maybe the color is a bit blue? I don't notice it in real life but can see it in these pictures. We have 2700k lighting in every fixture in our house; I don't like blue light but the solartube doesn't feel cold to me.

ETA: we have a skylight in our primary bath. I love the light, but here in Austin, that room gets SO HOT because of the skylight. I bought a motorized cellular shade to help with that, but I can still tell a difference in temperature.

Thanks. Yeah I am concerned that the light will look artificial or blue as you say. I mean the point for me is to get that beautiful natural light inside but if the light itself looks the same as a light fixture light then I would rather just get a light fixture or go with the sky light.

I only think it looks blue when compared to my 2700k lightbulbs. But when I stand in my living room and compare my lamps to the outdoors, my lightbulbs are more yellow than the natural light outside. But a solartube is probably more expensive than hanging a light fixture, so you'd want to make sure you'd be happy with it. I really like having a bit of natural light in that bathroom; it was dark and gloomy before.