Greenhouse effect

[dkf]

What materials other than glass could be used to build a greenhouse?
If cost of materials were not an issue, what materials ( resins?)would give maximum thermal efficiency.
TIA

DKF

 

[IRstuff]

Pretty much anything that's transparent in the visible. TTFN

 

[cbiber]

Actually a greenhouse needs to transmit visible and short-IR solar wavelengths, and reflect the long-IR that's emitted by the contents of the greenhouse (usually peaks in the 8 micron range). Glass works great because its typically transmission cutoff is around 3 microns. For other materials, hunt around NREL's web site, or keyword-search on "solar absorptivity". Or look at the ratio of solar absorptivity to emissivity.

Biber Thermal Design

http://www.biberthermal.com