Tubular skylights work by allowing sunlight to pass though an acrylic dome (or light collector) lens on the roof. The light passes through reflective tubing to a diffuser lens. That lens then spreads the light evenly throughout the room. With tubular skylights there isn’t any harmful direct sunlight; however, they don’t provide a view, either.

The initial cost for tubular skylights is much less than conventional skylights, ranging from $150-$600 depending on what kind of model is desired. The installation cost is also lower because little or no additional framing is required. This is a much more “do-able” project than conventional skylights. Like everything though, they will not perform well if they are poorly or improperly installed. They should be mounted where the dome will receive direct sunlight. Also, the shorter the reflective tubing that the sunlight has to travel through, the more effective the sunlight will be. Some tubular skylights can even be fitted with electrical lights to provide light in the evening as well. (Click on the thumbnail to view larger)

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This type of skylight is really good to use in kitchens and bathrooms because it can circulate air and rid the room of excess moisture. Because it is on the ceiling, the ventilating skylight creates an updraft which carries the hot air, and the pollutants that come with the rising hot air, out of the house. This makes ventilating skylights a wonderful option for people with severe allergies and asthma.

Ventilating skylights usually open outward at the bottom. Some have moisture control sensors and automatically close when it rains. Ventilating tubular skylights use whirly vents to circulate the hot air out of small areas.

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There are three main types of skylights: ventilating, fixed, and tubular. Within these types there are nine different styles of skylights: flat, round, polygon, pyramid, dome, hip ridge, ridge, lean-to, and barrel vault. In this post we’ll take a look at what these are. First, the types:

Ventilating Skylights: This type of skylight can be opened for better air flow. It is optimal for bathrooms and kitchens where it will help control the moisture. They are operated either by hand crank, automatic (by temperature), or remote control.

Fixed Skylights: This type doesn’t open, and is installed just for light.

Tubular Skylights: This is really just a very small skylight that is meant to fit places such as closets and hallways where traditional skylights wouldn’t work.

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Now we’ll take a quick look at those nine different styles:

Flat: This is the most common. Made out of a flat (obviously) piece of acrylic or glass, it can be either the ventilating type or the fixed type.

Round: These come up out of the roof looking like half a bubble.

Polygon: Polygon skylights are composed of many pieces of glass or acrylic. It is more expensive, but also much more impressive.

Pyramid: These are sort of like the polygon styles without as many panels of glass. Obviously, for a pyramid, there are only four pieces. It juts out of the roof in the same way though.

Dome: This style is pretty much like the flat style except that is gently “bubbles out, ” if you will, above the roof-line.

These styles are mostly residential; the next few are mainly associated with larger buildings:

Hip ridge: These look like enormous pyramid skylights. Long and rectangular hip ridge skylights come to a peak above the roof surface to a central ridge. The short ends are composed of sloping, triangular pieces of the same material.

Ridge: It is almost the same as the hip ridge, but a little simpler with the short ends being flat rather than sloping.

Lean-to: This is a very simple design. It starts on the roof of one story, and ends on the wall of the next.

Barrel vault: These are sort of like the lean-to styles, but a bit more complex with the upper story part consisting of a half sphere.

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