In Practice: Tubular Skylight Pendants Put Decorative Spin on Daylighting

The popularity of tubular skylights, which collect sunlight from the roof and channel it via a highly reflective tube, has soared in recent years, thanks in part to the green building movement and the ongoing push to get more natural light deeper into homes and buildings.

Most often, tubular skylights end at the ceiling, in a fixture similar to a recessed light (and perhaps even incorporating a supplemental electric light). Decorative options, such as diffusers and mounted shades, are growing. But you also can go a step further by transforming the solar tube into a traditional pendant- or chandelier-like fixture, as tubular skylight maker Solatube does in its own lobby.

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