Polycarbonate sheets – which are the best for a conservatory?
As I mentioned before, there is a large range of polycarbonate sheets on the market today. Today we will look again at which is the best for a conservatory? In the second of these blogs, I will look at polycarbonate sheet colours.
Your first thought may be the aesthetics of how you want your conservatory to look. Dependent upon the colour of windows and doors you may want something to match in your glazing bars and polycarbonate sheets. For example, if the main part of your conservatory is white, you may want white glazing bars and opal sheets. There are however, other factors you need to consider in the performance the available colours can bring. Insulation and light transmission are both very important. As is cost!
As polycarbonate sheets get thicker, the more colour options you have to choose from. You would never use the thinner twin wall sheets in a conservatory so I will start with 16mm thickness as a minimum.
16mm polycarbonate
This is really only suitable for smaller unheated conservatories where you are not really looking for any real insulation. Perhaps you are using it as a storage or utility area. In this thickness you are looking at clear, opal or bronze colours.
25mm polycarbonate
This is a very popular thickness for conservatories. You have the usual colours of clear, opal or bronze but the addition of dual colour sheets in Bronze Opal and HeatGuard.
35mm polycarbonate
This polycarbonate was created specifically for conservatories and is the most expensive but in most cases the best. You again have the standard colours of clear, opal or bronze but the addition of dual colour sheets in Bronze-Opal and HeatGuard.
So, lets look at these in more detail:
Clear multi-wall polycarbonate, as you would expect, lets the maximum amount of light shine through. It also lets the most heat in and can be a good choice for darker, colder, perhaps North facing spots
Opal multi-wall polycarbonate is a great all-rounder. This colour allows diffused softer light through and helping to reduce heat build-up and hot spots. Its tinted appearance provides a good level of privacy while still maintaining a light and bright space. It also has the benefit of not showing through every spec or leaf that may fall on to it.
Bronze multi-wall polycarbonate is good for excessively bright spaces where you may actually want less light to pass through. It helps to reduce heat build-up, keeping rooms cooler. It also looks great in a brown conservatory.
Heatguard polycarbonate is named very aptly. This very special doubly extruded sheet has a grey outer surface and an opal inner. This product is especially suited to very sunny south facing conservatories. The grey outer layer reflects and repels heat helping to keep your conservatory cooler than with standard glazing. The opal interior keeps it looking light and bright. At night the it has a ceiling like appearance as artificial light reflects off it.
Bronze Opal polycarbonate is once again a double extruded sheet with a bronze outer and an opal inner surface. Suited to sunny conservatories, the outer layer reflects light and repels heat to a slightly lesser degree than Heatguard (8% light transmission as opposed to 7%.) The opal inner still keeps it looking light & bright with the benefit of a ceiling like appearance at night as artificial light bounces off it. This polycarbonate sheeting is very popular for brown conservatories.
For more details on the specifications of each product look in our brochures section on the top line menu or give us a call on 01536 446395, we are always happy to help and advise.