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Summer has plenty of pleasures to enjoy–but those sweltering dog days? Not so much. Get comfortable (without sending your electric bill soaring) with cool ventilation solutions for your home.
Looking for home improvement ideas? Most homeowners with an eye to sprucing things up often forget one important question: how bright is your home? A well-lit space makes all the difference when it comes to creating a cheerful and beautiful home. And brightness is not just about changing the kind of light bulbs you use — you need to look at the big picture. Here are a few ways to shed a little light on the subject.
Do you remember when you were a child, and you’d look out the window, yearning for recess to start so that you could play outdoors under the sun’s natural light? Well…as working adults, most of us experience the same feeling. Nobody likes being stuck in a dull, dark office setting. But can natural light actually help us be healthier? The answer is a resounding yes!
The evidence of the power of the sun is everywhere. It keeps our solar system together, provides warmth for all living things to grow and gives us beautiful light to see the wonders of the earth. Without it we would not exist.
Natural Light Found to Help Kill Bacteria Indoors. A recent health article on NPR’s site, entitled “Grandma Was Right: Sunshine Helps Kill Germs Indoors,” discusses a research study conducted by the University of Oregon to evaluate sunlight’s impact on dust and germs in an indoor space. According to the research, published in the journal Microbiome, “Rooms exposed to daylight have fewer germs. In fact, the study showed that the lit rooms had about half the viable bacteria (those that are able...
In the workplace, there are a lot of things that are provided as perks. But the one that bubbles to the top might not be what you’d expect. A recent Business Insider article cited a Future Workplace study for the Harvard Business Review that identifies natural light in the workplace as a major benefit for employees. In fact, the survey of 1,614 North American employees “found that ‘access to natural light and views of the outdoors’ was the most popular perk of all, beating out other things like...
Your garage can be a lot more than just a place to put your cars, store chemicals, smelly old sports equipment, and other stuff you never look at. It can actually be one of the coolest spaces in your house. You can use a garage for multiple things like a family movie room, classic car shop, fitness studio, or even a man cave, complete with a full bar, every kind of gaming, and maybe even your own sound stage. (Yes, we’ve been watching “I Love You, Man.”) Regardless of all the cool stuff you...
There has been a recent movement, seen through the #IndoorGeneration, that’s taking a look our current society and pointing out the issues surrounding our heavily indoor-based lifestyles. How heavy? Well, the average person believes they spend around only 67% of time indoors, when in actuality, they’re undershooting by a whopping (or disturbing) 23%. But the real issue is that as a result of the abundance of time we spend indoors, we are exposed to significantly negative effects
It’s hot. Like seriously hot. In your house. You know… that sweaty, uncomfortable, stick-to-everything kind of hot. Of course, there is relief. The old standby is air conditioning. But, the thing about standbys is that they are, in fact, old. And that usually comes with the downside of technology that’s stale. There is something that’s new, however.
Do you ever feel like as the work week goes on, you’re just getting dumber? You lose focus, you’re more tired and less productive. You might pass it off as just being distracted by thoughts of the weekend that lies ahead. Well, the bad news is that the dimly lit space that you work in really is affecting your mental capacity. A new study conducted by Michigan State University neuroscientists, noted in a recent Fast Company article, has yielded changes in the structure of lab rats’ brains when...
Skylights are great, right? They fill your room with a ton of natural light and keep you from having to use electricity to light your room during the day. Well, there are some things about installing skylights that may make you think twice about it. Here are 5 of the biggest ones: 1. Big Holes, Big Hassle The premise behind skylights is pretty simple: in order to bring a lot of light into your home, you need to cut big holes in your roof and ceilings to do it. The problem is that this...
So it’s a little dark in here… What’s the big deal, right? Well, when it comes to your bathroom, things can go drastically wrong when it’s not well lit. Here are a few things that top the list: 1. “The Joker” When it’s time to put on makeup, you don’t want to be doing it without good light. No one wants to think they’re looking super hot after they’ve “put their face on” and then go out and realize later that they’re having a Tammy Faye moment. Whether it’s avoiding the wrong shades or...
Here at Solatube, we’ve been innovators in daylighting systems for 25 years. And while it may not be apparent at first glance, there’s a whole lot of technology that goes into bringing bright, natural sunlight into your homes. In fact, over the years we’ve pioneered new and better ways to capture, transfer and deliver sunlight through our advanced domes, ultra-reflective tubing and customizable diffusers, just to name a few. And we aren’t stopping there. We’ve just introduced our newest...
“Home is where the heart is”, “Mi Casa es Su Casa”, “There’s no place like home”, “Home is where you hang your hat”, “You better be home in time for dinner” –Mom. There are so many great quotes about home; they could fill a thousand Pinterest boards. That’s right, a thousand. It’s a launch point for most of life’s adventures and a returning sanctuary for when life’s adventures become … well … too adventurous. Because “home” is such a powerful human concept, and because it means so much to...
Now that summer is here, the weather is warming up, and unfortunately, so is your home. Since most attics lack adequate ventilation, heat builds up between the ceiling and roof, making the entire house feel hotter. And if you have air conditioning, it has to work harder to keep you comfortable. But don’t worry. Solar Star Attic Fans are an easy solution. Here are six rock-solid reasons why they make sense (and cents): Operate for free: You read that right! The sun powers these fans. No...
National Inventors' Day celebrates those who have improved our world with their inventions. Here are a few of the great unknowns we're honoring.
Glare inside your home can cause you big headaches…literally. Find out how a Solatube Daylighting System can eliminate this issue and provide other perks too.