Storm shelters are critically important in their role of saving lives in the event of a tornado or hurricane.

The construction code ICC 500 and more stringent guideline FEMA P-361 have been put in place to ensure proper construction methods for building storm shelters and safe rooms requiring stringent testing of any building components used in the construction of these facilities.

As the inventor and industry leader of tubular daylighting devices (TDDs), Solatube believes thorough testing of our product allows us to make a better TDD. From Federal Blast Testing to Factory Mutual certification, and even hurricane coastal requirements in Florida and Texas, Solatube International has achieved more industry firsts and rigorous product test certifications than any other TDD on the market. So it is no surprise that once again, Solatube achieved another industry first when in early 2019, Solatube became the first roof-top daylighting product manufacturer to achieve ICC 500 and FEMA P-361 compliance for its 750 DS-O product. Even more eye opening is the fact that the 750 DS-O faired so well in the testing that additional costly and bulky penetration protection is not required with the Solatube 750 DS-O. This is a huge game changer for schools and entities as daylighting a shelter no longer has to level the budget, and following the testing and code means that occupants can be assured that Solatube’s tubular daylighting devices can stand up to the forces of nature.

Solatube continues to support daylighting in life safety applications and has now added to its ICC 500/FEMA P361 compliant offering with the 750DS C for closed ceiling applications. The addition of this model will allow Solatube to transition from open ceiling applications such as gymnasiums and cafetorium-based storm shelters to closed ceiling applications such as drop-in ceilings common in hallways, conference rooms, office and classroom-style shelters.  Your budget can remain intact when you daylight with Solatube and so can your facility.