3 Questions with Roehm America’s David Morrison: Covering Your Greenhouse

1. What are the most important factors when choosing a greenhouse covering in the cannabis industry?

Cannabis is a high-value crop with a lot of producers competing for market share. You want to produce the highest quality product with the lowest production costs. One driver of product quality and yield is the light transmitted through the greenhouse covering to the plants. Cannabis benefits from exposure to a full spectrum of light, especially UV wavelengths. Your choice of covering dictates whether that UV light is free from the sun or spinning through your electric meter. Another important driver of both quality and costs is temperature control. The greenhouse covering has a direct impact on the design and operation of heating and cooling systems.

2. How does a greenhouse covering contribute to energy savings?

First, high volume cannabis production requires lots of light. Every percentage of extra sunlight transmission through the covering counts. That extra sunlight will either increase your yield or reduce your supplemental lighting costs. A high-transmission covering is a capital investment that provides consistent returns year after year. Second, cannabis greenhouses can face significant heating and cooling loads. Many are built in cooler climates where heating is required. Others are sealed and must be cooled without the benefit of evaporative pads. A greenhouse covering with a high resistance to heat flow will reduce those heating and cooling loads. Again, investing in the covering up front will produce long term paybacks.

3. What are the benefits of ACRYLITE^® greenhouse coverings?

16mm ACRYLITE^® Alltop UV-Transmitting Multi-skin has many benefits for high efficiency cannabis operations. This product has a unique geometry compared to other coverings. The inside and outside walls are thicker than other products, reducing the conduction of heat. There is also a wide gap between the walls that trap a layer of insulating air. This combination provides an industry-leading resistance to heat flow of 0.44 Btu/hr-ft2-°F. There are also optical benefits, as the special 64 mm rib spacing of ACRYLITE® Alltop cuts light reflection in half compared to other products. The optical clarity of our UV-transmitting acrylic formulation and the open Alltop geometry combine to transmit 89% of PAR light while also transmitting 87% of UVA and 47% of UVB light. No other product on the market can match this combination of thermal and light efficiency. Finally, ACRYLITE® is a durable, non-yellowing covering backed by a 30-year guarantee. This means years of high efficiency operation without re-glazing.

Learn more: acrylite.co/greenhouses