What if I told you it is now possible to use a skylight in the middle of the night, or that you could install a skylight in your basement… or that you could use a skylight without the sun all together? You would think I’m crazy. Without denying that isn’t the case I can guarantee that such technology exists.

After 12 years of scientific research, Professor Paoli Di Trapani from Insurbia University in Como, Italy and his team have created CoeLux. The startup has successfully artificially created natural light which has attracted European Union funding.

The CoeLux skylights use LEDs calibrated to the same wavelengths as the sun and mimic the subtle variation normal in natural sunlight. Paoli and his team achieved the elastic scattering of a sky blue light which is known as Rayleigh scattering to produce a stunningly realistic representation of the sun, capable of tricking the eye, brain and camera.

Going by these unedited pictures you would forgive the marketers of the CoeLux lights to tweak the famous slogan of the margarine company to ‘I can’t believe it’s not sunlight.’

These lights have the potential to completely change the complexion of hospitals, gyms, offices and parking structures where natural sunlight is impossible.

They have now developed three sun lights; the CoeLux 60, which provides a tropical, bright, high contrast light; the CoeLux 45, which has a 45º ceiling beam that offers equal balance in light and shade and the CoeLux 30, for wall installation to create a lateral grazing light.

To give a more detailed focus on a skylight, the following are the specification features of the CoeLux 45.

The CoeLux 45 is a non-dimmable LED, to be installed into a drop ceiling preferably at a 2,200-2,600mm height. The device dimensions are 2,274 x 1,675 x 666mm, with a sky-light size of 985 x 490mm and a weight of 300kg. The light has a typical power consumption of 300W, a max power consumption of 350W and a power input of 230V. The lights comes with two years warranty.

But before you decide to put one in every room, and one on top of the dog’s kennel, bear in mind it will set you back $61,000 for one light and another $7,600 to install the thing.

However for indoor architectural designers the idea of creating the illusion of infinite space is incredibly exciting.