Monodraught has recently completed installing its revolutionary SunPipes at the Mall of Emirates (MoE) project in the UAE.

The SunPipes now bring in natural daylight to the management offices serving the complex.
The company, which has also been associated with a few other projects in the UAE, says that the product has proven to be a great success in the UAE for the benefits they offer.
“Tubular skylights, which offer all the benefits of traditional skylights, can be installed in a very neat and compact form, resulting in the elimination of structural supports or alterations to the roof framing thereby ensuring compatibility with virtually any roofing profile,” says a spokesman.
He adds: “SunPipes are manufactured in the UK in 10 different sizes and operate on the principle of utilising a silverised, mirror-finish aluminium tube that reflects sunlight down into the room below but without any heat gain or solar gain normally associated with conventional rooflights. When installed, the SunPipe consists of a long tube of still air that, in many respects, has been described as a giant double-glazed unit. The length of SunPipe is a minimum of 600 mm but when extended down to a ceiling below, it is usually 2 m to 3 m in length.
“Solar gain obviously heats up the air within the top of the SunPipe and this air expands and a special brushed nylon gasket around the base of the SunPipe Diamond dome allows the system to breathe, so that the air can expand during daytime and contract during night time, but the nylon brush eliminates any possibility of sand or insect ingress. The heated air, however, does not drop but stays at the top of the SunPipe, so there is no heat gain to the room below.
“Apart from the fact that the SunPipes can twist and turn to take this intensified sunlight to exactly where it is required, they are inherently far more secure than any conventional rooflight or skylight,” he points out. “This is because it is virtually impossible to enter a building down through a SunPipe: Indeed, for secure buildings, such as police stations and military establishments, additional stainless steel security bars are provided just below roof level or at ceiling level to provide complete security.
“For commercial buildings, the SunPipe is perfect in bringing in sunlight and natural daylight to enclosed offices, corridors, and internal work stations without the problem of glare or heat gain. So often in offices and other commercial buildings, window blinds have to be kept closed during the day because of the intensity of sunlight, thereby resulting in the lights having to be kept on all day long! Not only is this a waste of energy but also the cooling load of the building has to be designed to also dissipate the additional heat from the electric lighting.
“A further advantage, of course, is the health benefit – as it is far healthier to work in an environment that has natural day lighting rather than a building that totally relies on electrical lighting.”
Apart from the MoE project, the company has also been involved with the British School at Abu Dhabi, where more than 70 SunPipes were used to replace a series of skylights and in so doing has produced a remarkable natural daylit interior.
“Monodraught has skilled installation teams in Dubai, to carry out the complete installation.” he concludes.
Edison Lighting (Middle East), Dubai is its appointed agent.