For the look of a sky at a low price, buy a smart sky panel such as Philips Skylight or Nanoleaf Skylight, from about $150. To light a whole room to daylight levels without building work, Sunday Light, the artificial skylight we make in London, gives 34,500 lumens and hangs like a chandelier. For the illusion of a sun far overhead, CoeLux and Innerscene make recessed sky simulators, priced by quote and built into a ceiling void. Printed sky panels, the fourth kind, are made mainly for office grid ceilings.
The four kinds at a glance
| Kind | Examples | Light output | Price, October 2026 | Fitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printed sky panel | Ener-J SKY Cloud, Sky Factory | 2,200 lumens per 60 cm panel (Ener-J) | £155 for four (Ener-J); Sky Factory by quote | Drops into a grid ceiling |
| Smart LED sky panel | Philips Skylight, Govee, Lumary, Nanoleaf | 1,400-7,000 lumens | $150 to €700 | Fixes flat in place of a ceiling light |
| Daylight-level hanging skylight | Sunday Light | 34,500 lumens | £5,900, $6,900, €6,900 | Hangs from a ceiling rose like a chandelier |
| Recessed sky simulator | CoeLux, Innerscene Virtual Sun | 1,600-5,900 lumens per unit | By quote; CoeLux from C$12,755 before installation | Needs a ceiling void, 25 cm to 1.2 m deep |
One option sits outside the four because it runs on the real sun. A tubular skylight such as a VELUX Sun Tunnel brings daylight from a 25 or 35 cm opening in the roof down a reflective tube to the ceiling, and Solatube puts a kit at $200 to $700. It needs a hole through the roof and goes dark at night.
Printed sky panels
A printed sky panel is a photograph of sky and clouds on a panel lit from behind. The cheapest are made for office grid ceilings: B&Q sells Ener-J's SKY Cloud set of four 60 cm panels for £155, each giving 2,200 lumens at a fixed 6000K. At the other end, Sky Factory builds sky ceilings for hospitals and other commercial interiors from photographic panels lit at 6500K, set in angled reveals that need 16-22 cm above the ceiling.
They suit rooms with a suspended ceiling where the picture matters more than the light, such as a windowless office or a treatment room.
Smart LED sky panels
A smart sky panel is a flat ceiling light with tunable LEDs behind a diffuser, styled to look like sky and set to follow a daylight schedule. Nanoleaf Skylight comes as 30 cm squares of 1,400 lumens each, $149.99 for three on offer in October 2026 (£159.99 in the UK). Lumary Skylora gives 4,000 lumens for $249.99 and Govee's Sky Ceiling Light 7,000 lumens for $399.99. Philips Skylight, launched by Signify in June 2026, gives 3,800 or 5,300 lumens from €499.99, with VitaUp versions that add a UV-B module.
An electrician fits one in place of an existing ceiling light. The output is that of a good ceiling light, so they suit a kitchen or a home office that wants the look of a sky. They won't make a dark room feel like daylight; the brightest light for a dark flat covers what does.
Daylight-level hanging skylights
This is the kind we make. The LED sits at the bottom of Sunday's arm and shines up at a sheet 120 cm across. The sheet scatters the bluer light and reflects the warmer light. It's called Rayleigh scattering, the same thing that makes the sky blue. You see a sky glow with a warm sun-like centre, and the room fills with soft, indirect light.
Sunday gives 34,500 lumens, 10,000 lux at 60 cm. Most homes sit at 100-300 lux and a well-lit office at about 500, and outdoors is 50 to 100 times brighter than a typical room. That gap is what Sunday is built to close. A schedule takes it from cool 6000K in the morning to warmer, dimmer light through the afternoon, the CRI is 97+, and water flowing through the arm cools the LED so it can run at full brightness all day.
It hangs from a ceiling rose like a chandelier, and any qualified electrician fits it in 1-2 hours with nothing cut or recessed; a solid concrete ceiling is no obstacle. It needs a ceiling of 240 cm (7 ft 10 in) or more. It suits dark flats and basements, where the sky can't supply the light. We install it for £450 in London and $450 in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, and you can see one by appointment in London, New York, Palo Alto and Zurich.
Sunday Light, our sunlight ceiling light, is £5,900 in the UK, $6,900 in the US and €6,900 in Europe, with free worldwide delivery.
Recessed sky simulators
A recessed sky simulator uses optics to show a sun at infinity in a deep blue sky and throws a sunbeam into the room. CoeLux makes its sky from nanoparticles that reproduce the atmosphere's Rayleigh scattering. Innerscene uses lenses the way a VR headset does, so its sun looks far away. What makes an artificial skylight look like real sky explains both.
Output runs from 1,600 lumens for CoeLux's HT25 Mini to 5,900 for its HT25, with Innerscene's Virtual Sun at 4,455. Neither maker publishes prices. In October 2026 the retailer 360Lamps listed CoeLux's LS Matte at C$12,755 and the 45 HC from C$72,600, before installation, and CE Pro put a 45 HC at about $48,000 installed in 2016.
They are built into the ceiling. Virtual Sun needs 254 mm (10 in) of depth and weighs about 35 kg; the CoeLux 45 HC weighs 300 kg and needs a void about 1.2 m high. They suit a windowless room in a new build or a major renovation, where the ceiling has depth and the illusion of an opening is the point. CoeLux alternatives for a home compares them in detail.
