Any guess what these tubes could be for? They are not combustion air supplies, as there is no gas at the property. I’m stumped.
House from 99 in a slightly rural area of Texas.
Edit: ah ha! Insulation retainers for the recessed lights below! 
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They put the wrong type of can lights in.
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They could convert them to LED very easily. 
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True!..
Fwiw, if any of you haven’t been down this road in your own house the replacements are pretty nice… and cheap. I was soured because when they first came out they were ridiculously expensive and the light was harsh and bright. FF a few years and you can get them for +/- $5/ea and they have adjustable light colors/tones. I did our whole house which was around 35 lights and they look soooo much better. I don’t really micromanage my power bill but I suppose it saves me a few bucks too.
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The recessed light housings themselves should be IC “insulation contact” rated. If they are not IC rated then they should have a 3" clearance from insulation on all sides to avoid starting fires. The bulb itself doesn’t have much to do with the code. Faulty circuit within the unit can also start a fire. Not just the temperature of the bulb.
I was going to ask - is the implication clearance from combustibles or is it over-insulation and overheating of wiring? Or is it both?
Honestly, don’t know for sure. Wires shouldn’t overheat anyway if proper gauge of wiring is used for the purpose. If they wire overheats, its undersized. I am sure the main concern is overheating of the housing that may start a fire. However, if that was only the case, then they would make them IC rated while in use with LED bulbs. But that’s not the case. The housings are either IC rated or not, no matter what bulb you use. So I am sure other things are being considered while rating them. Probably only the manufacturer will be able to tell you for sure.
I agree with Igor, The concern with non-IC is that the outer can could get too hot for surrounding combustible materials.
Think about it, the double wall of an IC rated can will retain more heat around the fixture, so the internals get hotter than when using an older style single-wall non-IC rated which dissipates so much heat to the surrounding materials (insulation, drywall or plaster/lath, joists and other framing). Most modern day insulation is not easily combustible but some types of older insulation really should not get too hot or they can burn, which not only is a fire hazard but some types can release toxic gasses.
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