SunPiped Light … Bringing The Sun’s Many Benefits Indoors

Healthy, Natural Sunlight

(HIT) - For the most part the modern family lives indoors, works indoors, and plays indoors. And even though we know better, basking in healthy sunlight has often been relegated to an occasional vacation at the beach, a few rounds on the golf course, and some sprinkles of sunshine as we dash from the car to the supermarket. At the other end of the spectrum are the sun worshipers who bake in the sun and frequent their local dermatologists because of it. Striking a balance with nature is increasingly becoming the wave of the future.

Small 9" SunPipe® (left) delivers far more daylight than larger 18 x 18 skylight (right) with virtually no impact on heating or cooling costs, security or privacy.

Recent studies have shed new light on the value of sunshine in the health and well-being of man (and woman and child), establishing guidelines for Vitamin D (sunshine) intake and a new look at the need for sunlight even among those with previous sun-damaged skin. The new studies underscore the need for balanced solar exposure as key to a longer and healthier life.

Recent headlines, accordingly, both glare and gloss over the controversy of natural climate change. By using daylight to illuminate interior spaces, it has been reported that we could eliminate a major amount of climate changing CO2 in indoor settings, and the heat which they introduce. Can there be any possible justification for not taking advantage of this safe, available, and nonpolluting natural light source?

Sun Pipes Keep Homes And Businesses Cool In Summer

While we can’t exactly bottle and sell real sunlight, one innovative mid-American company has found a way to harness and deliver it. Using reflective pipes up to 40 feet in length, Greg Miller, owner of The Sun Pipe Company, Inc., in Elgin, Illinois, has been helping homes and business bring in free natural light for almost twenty years. The company’s origin could perhaps be described as an "ultimate pipe dream"–as Greg worked out a plan to brighten indoor settings without the summer heat and the winter heat loss which plague traditional skylights.

SunPipe’s Simple Design

The highly reflective hollow pipe reflects daylight through the roof and attic into sun-starved rooms. According to Miller, when daylight hits the diffuser, it glows with the equivalence of up to 900, 1500 or even 3000 watts worth of light depending on the diameter of the SunPipe (9", 13" and 21" respectively). Season, the time of day, and type of day (i.e. sunny or overcast), naturally effect the SunPipe’s brightness.

Besides the obvious benefit in energy efficiency and savings, natural light adds a unique dimension to every decorating scheme–opening up possibilities for using previously unusable space. Approximately eighty percent of Greg Millers clients are homeowners, but don’t tell it to his industrial and institutional customer base–presently including offices, airports, a brewery, schools, warehouses, government buildings, and even a zoo and three wineries.

"Personal responsibility," says Miller, "means doing things the right way and not causing the release of unnecessary pollutants into our eco system."

The typical SunPipe costs $400 to $600 installed and will prevent over 3 tons of CO2 from entering our air over the next 10 years. All this while providing healthy, natural interior illumination, far superior to any electric light in color and intensity. It just makes good common sense to implement such technology.

SunPipe customers are so happy, Miller believes SunPipe® will become a standard component of residential and industrial construction. And, since it reduces the need for electric lighting, it earns the distinctive role of being a truly earth friendly product. "You can make daylight a natural phenomenon in your home–while helping to cut the overall electrical load and put the savings aside for your next vacation."

For further information call them toll free at 1-800-844-4786 or go to http://www.sunpipe.com.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center