Sun chimneys

[ChevronB19]

Hey all - I've just moved into an 8 year old detached, which is lovely (old house was 300 years old, and while full of charm, firstly - no garage, secondly, tiny and thirdly, damp and bloody freezing - I'm warm for the first time in 12 years!).

However - the house has a hallway behind a solid door (no window), leading up to a dogleg stairwell (again, no window, I think as it would overlook a neighbour). This means the landing, stairwell and entrance hall are very dark - in other words it means lights on even in the brightest weather.

I'm thinking a sun chimney (or whatever the correct terminology is) would be a solution. The attic is shallow and doesn't have any complicated trusses. It's a pitched roof with slate tiles (although a new build it's been built in the local style - Penrith sandstone etc).

So:

Sun chimney or skylight?

Rough installation cost?

Worth it?

Any planning problems?

I plan keeping the existing stairwell light, but locating the sun chimney to directly above the largest vertical space.

Thanks for any advice/experience!

[ChevronB19]

battered said:

PIR sensor and LED lighting in the hall? To fire escape standard 24/7 and ramping up when something moves, say.

Sorry battered, but you're going to have to expand on your comment, I don't know what you mean?

[ChevronB19]

battered said:

Sorry, a PIR detects movement (like the outside lights do) and turns on lighting.

LED lighting costs sod-all to run. You can run it all year for buttons.

Fire escape routes in commercial buildings have to be lit, but it doesn't have to be a lot. Just enough to avoid tripping over the cat when you get up at night.

You can set it up so that you get minimal lighting 24 hours a day, and when it sees you coming it switches on a proper light. The hotel I'm in this week has this feature. Again it's LED so it's cheap to run.

Ah, yes, got you - sorry I thought you meant there was some building control issue. Fair point, but I don't want to have artificial lighting all the time - I'd rather walk into the hallway to natural light rather than have to switch lights on, hence the idea of a sun chimney - natural light, but artificially delivered if you like!

[ChevronB19]

Thanks all - I shall investigate further!