In a previous article, Polycarbonate Greenhouse, we mentioned a special, aesthetically pleasing pearlescent material which is designed for greenhouse purposes called Pearly, which possess the following qualities, some of which are specific to greenhouse use.
- Diffused and Cool – Solar selective wavelength penetration.
- Soft Diffused Lighting – Filters unwanted wavelengths, retaining cool, diffused GREEN light.
- Controlled FIR and NIR – Reduce temperatures by max. 10°C or 50°F.
- Extra light diffusion + High Haze + Balanced light.
- Aesthetically pleasing Pearlescent luster.
VULCAN Pearly – Selective Shading in Horticulture
The beauty of greenhouses is that it renders growing aromatic vegetables and lush blossom in every season, ideal winter habitat for delicate plants, and protection against the elements possible throughout the whole year. This is achieved by creating the best possible indoor habitat conditions that is just right for different varieties of plants to grow; most of which entails ideal temperatures and appropriate amount of natural grow light. VULCAN Pearly, created with a special thin layer technology and co-extruded with multiple inorganic layers, lend them their unique properties in transmitting, absorbing and reflecting sunlight for an optimal climate in the greenhouse.
VULCAN Pearly lets sunlight into the polycarbonate pearly greenhouse and keeps heat out
Heat-reflecting, pearlescent VULCAN Pearly sheets fulfill exactly these requirements: they provide a colorless shading of the glazing. Most of the light that is essential for photosynthesis can pass into the greenhouse and serve the plants’ growth. At the same time, 99% of invisible UV light is absorbed. However, the multitalented pigment shows their greatest advantages in summer when heat usually accumulates in the greenhouse.
VULCAN Pearly sheets reflect the infrared part of sunlight and with it the heat radiation, reducing it by up to 75 percent. Conventional, non-pigmented glazing systems always reduce translucency as well – to the detriment of the plants’ growth.
Extra weathering resistance capabilities means that the Pearly properties are retained throughout the lifespan of the sheets.
VULCAN Pearly therefore not only offer considerable energy savings in polycarbonate pearly greenhouse cooling when the sun shines with all its power, they also make additional shading for temperature equalization unnecessary.
Blue and red are desired – UV and infrared light are kept out
VULCAN Pearly let in the blue and red parts of the visible light that are essential for the growth and development of plants. The pigments absorb harmful UV rays and reflect heat-generating infrared light.
These properties make the VULCAN Polycarbonate Pearly product range significantly more effective than conventional shading systems, which reduce not only the energy of solar radiation but also the transmission of light – to the detriment of plants’ growth.
Depending on the individual application conditions, rooms are up to 15 ºC cooler with VULCAN Pearly sheets than with non-pigmented glazing systems – another advantage for ideal growth conditions.
More than 50% of sunlight can pass indoors
The actual ability of a system to reduce temperature depends on multiple factors such as window size, area size and volume, air exchange and the orientation of the building itself. For greenhouse applications using the most popular evaporative cooling system method, build quality also affects the overall effectiveness of the Pearly.
VUCAN Polycarbonate Pearly Solar Characteristics
The solar factor equals the amount of energy that enters the interior of a building or room. This energy consists of direct transmission and absorption. Since the absorption radiates outwards as well as inwards, half of this energy, at most, can get inside the building or room. That is, with a solar factor of 0.51, 49% of the impacting energy is reflected. An ideal transparent material with no reflection or absorption would have a solar factor of 1 and allow 100% of the energy to pass through.
| Pearly Solar Properties | |
| Solar factor | 0.41 |
| Solar direct transmittance | 36% |
| Light direct transmittance | 53% |
| Solar direct absorptance | 20% |
| Selectivity | 1.50 |
| Total energy reduction compared to 100% transparent material | 59% |
| Energy reduction through reflection | 45% |
