The basics

Of course, sunlight seems like a great idea for most rooms, but rooms that doesn't have any natural sunlight from windows at all – typically conference rooms and common areas – are of course places yearning for some real sunlight. Bathrooms, basements with small or no windows as well as stairwells and garages are some other rooms that are often entirely without windows and could definitely gain a lot from a Solros installation.

It is natural to mount the luminaries in the ceiling or maybe on walls like lamps. But consider combining the sunlight with plants or water, or other natural materials such as wood, stone or even concrete to get a stronger connection to nature and the outdoors.

The amount of sunlight you will get from a Light Cable depends on the length of the fibres and how strong the sunlight is. From the bare cables the sunlight comes in a 30 degree cone, which is good if you want to have a very direct light, whereas for “normal” daylight in a conference room or a common area the light need to be spread with a diffusor.

How much light do you need?

As the light distributed through the Solros system is natural sunlight, the amount of light that you will get varies with the time of year and day as well as the length of your light cables. As a rule of thumb one Concentrator will provide light for one large room. One system covers an area of 15-30 square meters (200-400 square feet) and the intensity of the light in each luminary will depend on the amount of fibers used – the Light Cable splits into four at 200 cm to enable using 1-4 luminaries.

Where to mount the Concentrator

The Concentrator should be mounted on a horizontal roof, a slanting roof or even on a wall. Solros offers a mount that tilts up to 10 degrees but there are of course ways to build solutions for steeper slanting roofs, as one would with a satellite dish for instance. Solros also offers three attachment kits for various roof types: tiles, standing metal seams and tar paper. The most important things to consider when choosing the location of your Concentrator are:

• The Concentrator should have as unobstructed view of the sun as possible – all day, every day.

• The Concentrator should be as close to the luminaries as possible to keep the light cables short, which maximises the light output.

When you have found a good location for your Solros system check out our mounts and cable glands to get a good understanding of how to mount the system and how to get the light cables inside the house.