12-12-2009, 01:30 PM
Gary, I think my contractor quoted me $100.00 per solar tube to install it including the cost of the tubes, but we were on a budget and passed on the solar tubes to economise a bit. I'm not sure how well they light up at night with the bulbs. The first time I heard of them was when I visited a friend's recently remodeled home and they had installed a solar tube in the master bath. During the day the light was like daylight in there! I kept wanting to shut off the light because it looked like someone left the lights on in the bathroom!
Another thing to look into is low energy florescent lighting. Check with you power company. They can give you the model numbers for the low power florescents. The church I belong to recently converted to the low power florescents. The tubes are 4 feet long as before, but about 1/2 the diameter as the previous tubes and I would estimate that they put out about 1/3 more light. These are instant on lighting and the ballasts are smaller than the old lighting. If I remember correctly, the price was under 30.00 ($23.00 is the number that comes to mind) per fixture. You might be able to get a deal or rebate from your electric power company for installing them.
About your windows or lack thereof, check local building codes. Most building codes require a certain square footage of windows for any construction, but they don't specify where the windows need to be. You could put windows that are only 1 foot high around the wall at the top to get the required square footage without restricting your backdrop. Also skylights are usually considered to qualify as part of the square footage requirement for windows. The last thing that comes to mind is an emergency exit. The local building code may require you to have a second exit from your building in case of fire so that no one gets trapped inside. A window that is big enough to allow someone to get out may be ok, but if you don't want a window to disrupt your back drop, you may prefer a second door. The layout section in front of the door could be made to be easily removed, with the door knob just below benchwork level. If there was a fire and you needed to get out, removing the section of layout and opening the door should be easily accomplished. You could paint your back drop on the inside of the door, so that the door would not even be obvious.
Another thing to look into is low energy florescent lighting. Check with you power company. They can give you the model numbers for the low power florescents. The church I belong to recently converted to the low power florescents. The tubes are 4 feet long as before, but about 1/2 the diameter as the previous tubes and I would estimate that they put out about 1/3 more light. These are instant on lighting and the ballasts are smaller than the old lighting. If I remember correctly, the price was under 30.00 ($23.00 is the number that comes to mind) per fixture. You might be able to get a deal or rebate from your electric power company for installing them.
About your windows or lack thereof, check local building codes. Most building codes require a certain square footage of windows for any construction, but they don't specify where the windows need to be. You could put windows that are only 1 foot high around the wall at the top to get the required square footage without restricting your backdrop. Also skylights are usually considered to qualify as part of the square footage requirement for windows. The last thing that comes to mind is an emergency exit. The local building code may require you to have a second exit from your building in case of fire so that no one gets trapped inside. A window that is big enough to allow someone to get out may be ok, but if you don't want a window to disrupt your back drop, you may prefer a second door. The layout section in front of the door could be made to be easily removed, with the door knob just below benchwork level. If there was a fire and you needed to get out, removing the section of layout and opening the door should be easily accomplished. You could paint your back drop on the inside of the door, so that the door would not even be obvious.