Solatube eChoice makes tubular skylights more efficient & less expensive

Solatube recently announced upgrades to two models of their tubular daylighting devices (tubular skylights).  The upgrades qualify their products for a 30% Federal Tax Credit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The two qualifying products are the 160DSe and the 290DSe.  Both are improvements upon the 160DS (the one I installed in my home), and the 290DS.

Solatube is the first company with tubular daylighting devices that exceed low Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGC), and U-Factor ratings specified in the federal Act.     This is why their products qualify for the Federal tax credit!

What are SHGC and U-Factor you ask?  These ratings come from the National Fenestration Rating Council. We demystify both terms in detail for you in a previous article here on GetWithGreen.  Essentially, a low Solar Heat Gain Coefficient means that your window or tubular device will block heat from sunlight.  A low U-Factor means that heat has a difficult time escaping.  These ratings matter to you because the tube from these skylights runs through your attic.  You want to prevent as much heat from coming in during the summer, and limit the amount of heat lost during the winter.    The lower these ratings, the less your attic heats, the more energy you save!

We have much more information on tubular skylight or daylighting systems here on GetWithGreen.com.  Read this related article:

See more on Daylighting Systems from GetWithGreen.com

For those of you striving for LEED certification in your remodel, tubular daylighting products/skylights also satisfy the daylighting credit of the certification process.

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