New Product May Be Exactly What Missoula Needs for the Dark Days

Yesterday I was outside in the early evening and everyone I was around was commenting on how dark it was outside. It's early September, so it's not that the sun is going down at that time, but we were having a weird combination of dark rainstorm clouds mixing with the dark haze of wildfire smoke that made it appear very dark outside.

This is one of the lifestyle hazards of living in Missoula. We all squeeze every inch of sunshine out of summer that we can because we know once winter (and arguably the second half of fall) arrives, so does the "cloudy season."

Missoula's Sunny and Not-So-Sunny Days

Seasonal Affective Disorder, a form of depression, is a real concern in Missoula and Montana because the winter months are long. Missoula on average has 159 days of sunshine per year according to bestplaces.net which is 46 days fewer than the national average and less than half the year.

It's part of the reason why so many Montanans visit Arizona in the winter or find other sunny places to frequent when Missoula's skies are grey.

But what if there was a way to simulate natural light inside so that it didn't always feel so gloomy?

Have You Seen This Product Called "Sunroof"? 

I saw this company on social media and then went to the website to see what it was all about. These are light panels that are the size of windows or skylights and the lights in the panels will mimic natural light. So, it makes you feel like you have windows or skylights in spaces that don't have natural light.

The company says the light will change throughout the day to mimic what the sun would do.

In the FAQ it also says the lights don't have Vitamin D right now, "But we are working with international scientists and hoping to launch the Vitamin D giving Sunroof by 2024."

Also, if you poke around their website you'll notice that some pages aren't finished yet, so they're likely still launching various stages of the business. And these lights aren't exactly something you'd find at Home Depot. The pricing is customized to fit the project and you'll have to contact the company if you're interested. But it does pose an interesting possibility, especially for homes and buildings in Missoula given how many dark or cloudy days we have.