Discover why compact polycarbonate is the ideal material for a wooden garden greenhouse. Lighter, more resistant, and more eco-friendly than glass, plastic film, or cellular polycarbonate, it ensures transparency and durability for your small and large greenhouses.
Why choosing the right glazing material for your garden greenhouse is essential?
Selecting the right glazing material is a key decision when installing your garden greenhouse. Glazing not only allows light in but also protects plants from the elements, resists impacts, and maintains good thermal insulation.
Whether you have a small greenhouse, a large greenhouse, or a professional greenhouse, four main options are commonly considered: cellular polycarbonate, compact polycarbonate, glass, and plastic film.
But how do you know which one to choose for a durable, high-performance, and eco-friendly garden greenhouse?
Compact Polycarbonate: A High-Performance Material with Multiple Benefits for Your Wooden Greenhouse
Compact polycarbonate is a high-performance material preferred in advanced industries, combining lightness, strength, and transparency. It’s an excellent choice for modern transparent greenhouses that need to withstand the toughest climate conditions.
- Flexibility and Impact Resistance: Compact polycarbonate is 200 times more impact-resistant than glass. With its 2mm thickness, it absorbs hail impacts, withstands strong winds, and supports up to 130 kg/m² of snow, making it ideal for areas exposed to extreme weather conditions.
It’s often used for objects requiring impact and scratch resistance, such as riot shields and helmets used by French CRS police forces.
- Lightweight : Compact polycarbonate is also used in aircraft canopies. Due to its lightness, it reduces the weight of greenhouse glazing by four times compared to glass, facilitating installation and reducing strain on the structure. This lightness also reduces the quantity of wood required for the frame while ensuring optimal strength.
- UV Protection and Transparency:
Unlike other materials, compact polycarbonate is treated to remain transparent over time. It won’t yellow or become brittle like PMMA (Acrylon®️, Altuglas®️, Perspex®️) and won’t lose transparency. It’s often compared to synthetic glass but with additional benefits for your wooden greenhouse.
Comparing Compact Polycarbonate to Cellular Polycarbonate: Flexibility and Long-Lasting Transparency
Cellular polycarbonate is a common, cost-effective choice, but it has several drawbacks compared to the compact version.
Cellular polycarbonate consists of thin, brittle walls around 0.3 mm thick that can weaken over time and don’t absorb shocks.
Its cellular structure is also prone to trapping moss, algae, and insects, which makes it harder to clean and quickly reduces transparency.
On the other hand, compact polycarbonate has a smooth surface, making it much easier to clean and maintaining long-lasting clarity.
Comparing Compact Polycarbonate to Glass: Lightness, Durability, and Reduced Environmental Impact
Glass has historically been used for garden greenhouses, but it has several drawbacks. Its fragility makes it susceptible to impacts, and its density requires a more robust frame, which increases material costs. Additionally, glass is heavy to transport and handle.
Compact polycarbonate is a much lighter solution that provides structural support for the garden greenhouse. It reduces the amount of wood required for the frame while maintaining structural rigidity.
Furthermore, polycarbonate production emits four times less CO₂ than glass production, strengthening Helio’s eco-friendly commitment for garden greenhouses.
Read the article on the carbon footprint of Helio greenhouses
Comparing Compact Polycarbonate to Plastic Film: Which Solution is Best for a Durable Greenhouse?
Plastic films a are widely used in agricultural tunnels, mainly because they are affordable and easy to install. However, they differ significantly from rigid materials like compact polycarbonate.
Advantages of Plastic Film for Garden Greenhouses
- Affordable: Plastic film is much cheaper, ideal for large greenhouses or short-term projects.
- Replaceable: Plastic film can be replaced if it degrades or gets damaged.
- Flexible Installation: It covers large areas with a relatively light greenhouse structure.
Disadvantages of Plastic Film for Garden Greenhouses
- Limited Lifespan: Unlike compact polycarbonate, plastic films degrade more quickly under UV rays, weather, and temperature changes.
- Weather Vulnerability: Plastic films are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions like hail, snow, or high winds, which can tear or puncture them, harming your plants.
- Less Aesthetic and Rigid: While practical, plastic films lack the aesthetics and rigidity of compact polycarbonate solutions.
The Key Role of Polycarbonate in the Structure of Helio Wooden Greenhouses
Helio wooden garden greenhouses fully utilize the properties of polycarbonate.
Used as glazing, this innovative material replaces traditional reinforcements and provides exceptional stability to the wooden structure. Polycarbonate holds the frames together, ensuring bracing and rigidity without compromising aesthetics.
Gone are horizontal beams and diagonal reinforcements that visually weigh down the construction!
The flexibility of polycarbonate also allows the greenhouse to open along the entire ridge, ensuring effective natural ventilation. This additional feature makes Helio greenhouses both sturdy and functional growing spaces.
Conclusion: Why Compact Polycarbonate is the Best Choice for Your Garden Greenhouse
Compact polycarbonate proves to be the best choice for a modern garden greenhouse.
It combines strength, lightness, easy maintenance, and environmental responsibility.
Compared to cellular polycarbonate, it’s more durable and less prone to degradation. Compared to glass, it offers a more eco-friendly and sturdier solution.
Whether you own a small greenhouse, a large greenhouse, or are looking for a professional greenhouse, compact polycarbonate is undeniably the ideal solution.
