Originally published at: How to make a convincing DIY "sun" with LED lighting | Boing Boing
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That was educational and interesting, but it makes me glad I can stick with the big fusion-powered, space-cooled, gravity-mounted, atmosphere-diffused light and heat source instead of putting all that effort into a project I’d bungle within minutes.
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Me: “But @gracchus, what if I want to turn off the big fusion-powered, space-cooled, gravity-mounted, atmosphere-diffused light and heat source so that I can take a nap??”
Gracchus: “Um, curtains.”
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Aha! I remember seeing the Coelux booth at the Light + Building trade show / conference a few years back, and being properly impressed by the lit effect. They did keep the overall depth of the thing quite well-concealed, though. We suspected it would be done something like this, so it’s neat to see somebody effectively reverse-engineer it!
(Edited to correct the name of the trade show)
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Those Coelux panels start at $40k?? 
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WOW, I’ve designed commercial/residential lighting systems with expensive fixtures, but $40K per panel feel super steep, even for a Union job.
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I’ve always thought that sun tunnels were a neat concept (and it’s actual sunlight). I guess it’s really just another form of skylight, but it’s neat how you can install one in rooms that traditional skylights can’t be installed in.
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We have two sun tunnels. Love them. We did add some color correcting to warm them up a bit.
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I was always curious. If you add a sun tunnel to a small room, like a closet, does it make that room noticebly warmer when the sun is fully out?
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I love the idea, but still a little too much for me. Someday I want to try doing this with less-crazy LEDs and without any liquids.
Even small units get pretty pricey
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And is there a way to shut off the sunlight if you want to, like a panel that slides across the cross-section? I could never sleep if I couldn’t make the room dark in the daytime.
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I think I would want to attach a deck prism at the end of one of those, to get it to illuminate the whole room
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I’d think it would be better than a window. The glass at the roof will absorb UV energy, and because it is located further from the room than a window, the UV energy converted to heat will be further away.
Having seen a few houses with light tunnels, all the reflection inside a light tunnel tends to diffuse the light (opposite of the collimating effect in the article video). That would reduce the feeling of warmth in any one spot.
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