Curious how these night lights work, and whether they may suit your home or business? Read on for our handy guide, with a focus on the Nightlight accessory from one of our key partners, Solatube Australia.
For personalised advice about night light systems and other natural daylight solutions, contact our team at Skylights WA today.
What Is A Skylight Night Light System?
Skylights are popular in Australia for many different reasons. Designed to channel natural sunlight into a room, they make any space feel brighter, bigger and warmer, and have a range of other benefits – from their ability to boost health and well-being to their overall energy efficiency.
Nowadays, the market is crowded with options, from modest fixed skylights to striking, custom-designed roofed windows. Customers are also driven by a wide range of factors, from design and structural considerations to installation costs and environmental values.
Traditionally, skylights only emitted daylight, during daylight hours. But more recently, we’ve seen new systems and accessories that harness sunlight to power lights inside, even at times when the sun is not out.
Our favourite of these is Nightlight, an accessory system from leading skylight manufacturer, Solatube. We love the fact that Nightlight is easily integrated into the Solatube tubular system, meaning that while it draws on a number of technologies, it is still largely powered by natural daylight.
How Does This Skylight Night Light Work?
Let’s explore how a Solatube system and the Nightlight attachment actually work.
- The first step is capturing sunlight using advanced Solatube dome technology. Picture a dome installed within and slightly protruding out of the roof of a building.
- The light this dome captures is then transferred inside through Solatube’s signature tubing system. Tubular systems are designed to be highly reflective, meaning they retain more light than many traditional skylight options.
- With the Nightlight system, a solar panel is installed inside the tubing. This panel captures electricity from the natural light passing through the tube.
- This electricity is stored during the day in two AA NiMH 1500 mAh 1.2V rechargeable batteries, commonly available in supermarkets and hardware stores.
- From dusk to dawn, the stored electricity powers Nightlight fixtures within the building. These fixtures contain LEDs, or light emitting diodes; a full day’s charge powers two of these LEDs.
Why You’ll Love the Solatube Nightlight
Are you an early riser who gets ready for work when it’s still dark out? Maybe a night owl who wants to get things done late, without turning lots of bright overhead lights on? Or a parent struggling through 3am wake-up calls for your baby or toddler? Solatube Nightlight might be perfect for you.
Here are a few of the reasons it appeals to our customers.
- As mentioned, the Nightlight system is fully integrated into the Solatube system. This means it harnesses high-performance solar technology and also offers a more environmentally friendly night-light option than traditional lighting setups, like incandescent light bulbs fully powered by non-renewable energy.
- As an integrated accessory, it can also be easily added to a newly installed or pre-existing Solatube system. It attaches smoothly to the inside of the system’s tubing, and uses the same space as the rest of the Solatube setup, meaning you can avoid unnecessary extra clutter on your ceiling.
- The lighting fixtures are elegantly designed, with subtle aesthetics to suit the rest of your home.
- The light they emit is diffused, glowing and calming – a bit like moonlight on a clear night.
- This light illuminates darker places around the house that may not usually be reached by other skylights and windows, including hallways, stairwells, bathrooms and kitchens.
- Ultimately, this light provides a safe and calming guide to anyone moving around the house either late at night or early in the morning, including the groups mentioned above.
- Finally, it’s more affordable to purchase an add-on like Nightlight compared to an entirely new lighting system.
Find the Perfect Natural Daylight Solution with Skylights WA
Whether you are interested in a new, all-hours lighting system, or you would like to add night-time functionality to your current skylight setup, Skylights WA is here to help. Our friendly team can help take you through Nightlight from Solatube and other brilliant lighting solutions.
If you’d like to book a free consultation with one of our experienced specialists, please get in touch below.