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VELUX FXG Acrylic Double Dome Skylight vs ACRYLITE Soundstop Transparent Noise Barrier Panels vs Plaskolite OPTIX G BR Bullet-Resistant Acrylic Sheet
ACRYLITE Soundstop Transparent Noise Barrier Panels
4.4
Quote only; transparent barriers ran about $34 per sq ft in FHWA's 2010 inventory
Check PricePlaskolite OPTIX G BR Bullet-Resistant Acrylic Sheet
4.1
$2,392 to $2,864 for a 1¼ in Level 1 4 × 8 ft sheet; about $75 to $90 per sq ft
Check Price| Specification | VELUX | ACRYLITE (Polyvantis) | Plaskolite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| Price | $509 to $647 for the 30½ × 30½ in unit | Quote only; transparent barriers ran about $34 per sq ft in FHWA's 2010 inventory | $2,392 to $2,864 for a 1¼ in Level 1 4 × 8 ft sheet; about $75 to $90 per sq ft |
| Category | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
| Light transmission | About 92% visible light for clear/clear acrylic double dome (Kingspan estimate) | 90% minimum on delivery, 88% minimum guaranteed after 30 years | 92% |
| Fire | CC2 | CC2; brushfire EN 1794-2 Annex A Class 2; self-ignition 860–878°F | CC2; burn rate 1.2 in/min (ASTM D635), per Spartech and distributor data |
| Product-specific details | |||
| Glazing | Two thermoformed acrylic domes (clear/clear standard; clear/white and bronze/clear to order) | — | — |
| Frame | Aluminum, neutral gray, encapsulated and 100% thermally broken inner frame | — | — |
| Mounting | Curb mount; roof pitch 0 to 60 degrees; outside curb = rough opening + 3 in | — | — |
| U-factor | About 0.56 double dome, 1.02 single (Kingspan estimate; no NFRC rating for FXG) | — | — |
| SHGC | About 0.89 clear/clear, 0.63 white/clear, 0.43 bronze/clear (Kingspan estimate) | — | — |
| Impact | Roughly 10× glass; polycarbonate roughly 250× glass | 11× glass; passes EN 1794-1 stone impact and ASTM E1996 large missile above 15 mm | — |
| Condensation | Gasket wicking system drains interior condensation to the exterior | — | — |
| Energy Star | Not qualified | — | — |
| Warranty | 10 years, no leaks, when installed with a VELUX flashing kit | 30 years no yellowing and light transmission | — |
| Price | FXG 305305 (30½ × 30½ in): $647 Home Depot, $509 to $525 skylight dealers; FXG 225465 (22½ × 46½ in): $436; FXG 345345 (37½ in curb): $533 | — | A&C Plastics, Sep 2026: 1.25 in 48 × 96 Level 1 uncoated $2,864; 1.375 in 49 × 97 Level 2 uncoated $3,720; 1.378 in 48 × 96 Level 2 coated $5,909. U.S. Plastic: 1.25 in 48 × 96 Level 1 (Spartech) $2,392 |
| Material | — | Acrylic (PMMA); XT extruded or GS cast; GS CC cast with embedded polyamide filaments | Monolithic cell-cast acrylic (PMMA), clear; UV resistant |
| Thickness | — | XT: 15, 18, 20, 25 mm; GS CC: 12, 15, 20, 25 mm | — |
| Sheet size | — | XT up to 8 ft × 19.5 ft; GS CC 2000 × 3000 to 2000 × 5000 mm and 2380 × 3300 mm | Distributors stock 4 × 6 ft through 6 × 10 ft; 4 × 8 ft is the common sheet |
| Weight | — | 3.66 lb/sq ft at 15 mm; 4.86 at 20 mm; 6.10 at 25 mm | About 7.7 lb/sq ft at 1.25 in and 8.5 lb/sq ft at 1.378 in (Spartech Polycast and distributor data) |
| Sound transmission class | — | STC 32 (15 mm), 34 (20 mm), 36 (25 mm) per ASTM E90 | — |
| Weathering | — | 92% transmission and haze under 5% after ten years in Arizona (ASTM D1003) | — |
| Fracture safety | — | XT: EN 1794-2 Class 2 (45 kg pendulum); GS CC: EN 1794-2:2011 Class 3 (400 kg pendulum) | — |
| Crash test | — | MASH TL-4 (tests 4-10, 4-11, 4-12) at 17 ft height, 10 ft post spacing | — |
| Colors | — | Clear plus 17 transparent tints, frosted, grey, and white; Bird Guard stripes black 2 mm at 30 mm or white 20 mm at 100 mm | — |
| Maker | — | POLYVANTIS Sanford LLC, Sanford, Maine (ACRYLITE); sold as PLEXIGLAS Soundstop outside the Americas | Plaskolite, Columbus, Ohio; founded 1950, owned by Pritzker Private Capital with the Dunn family since 2018 |
| OPTIX G BR1 | — | — | 1.250 in thick, UL 752 Level 1 (three 9 mm FMJ, 124 gr, 1,175–1,293 fps) |
| OPTIX G BR2 | — | — | 1.375 in thick, UL 752 Level 2 (three .357 Magnum JSP, 158 gr, 1,250–1,375 fps) |
| Finish | — | — | Uncoated or AR (abrasion-resistant) coated |
| Haze | — | — | Under 1% (distributor data) |
| Tensile strength | — | — | About 9,500 psi (ASTM D638, distributor data) |
| Level 3 option | — | — | Spartech Polycast Acryshield L3, 1.25 in acrylic-based alloy, over 85% transmission |
VELUX FXG Acrylic Double Dome Skylight
Pros
- Acrylic transmits 92 percent of visible light and holds that clarity without a UV cap layer, so the dome does not yellow the way uncoated polycarbonate does
- Double dome halves the heat loss of a single dome: U-0.56 against U-1.02 on Kingspan's published acrylic figures
- Thermally broken, encapsulated inner frame with a wicking gasket system that drains interior condensation to the outside
- Curb mount fits roof pitches from 0 to 60 degrees with no top or bottom orientation, and a ten-year no-leak warranty with VELUX flashing
- Stocked at Home Depot and skylight dealers in about a dozen curb sizes; tinted domes ship in about four weeks
Cons
- Clear-over-clear SHGC of about 0.89 is well above the 0.60 the 2021 IECC allows even for daylit zones; choose the white or bronze dome for a conditioned building
- Acrylic is fire class CC2, so code caps plastic skylights at 25 percent of floor area (33 percent for CC1 polycarbonate) and 100 sq ft per unit
- Roughly ten times the impact resistance of glass but a fraction of polycarbonate's; hail country buys polycarbonate
- Not Energy Star qualified, and no NFRC-certified U-factor is published for the FXG itself
- $500 to $650 for a 30-inch unit against $49 to $138 for a polycarbonate dome the same size
ACRYLITE Soundstop Transparent Noise Barrier Panels
Pros
- 30-year guarantee against yellowing and for light transmission; 92 percent transmission after ten years of Arizona exposure in the maker's weathering data
- STC 32 at 15 mm, 34 at 20 mm, 36 at 25 mm per ASTM E90, the highest European airborne-sound class (B3)
- GS CC cast sheet with embedded polyamide filaments passes the 400 kg pendulum test and needs no restraint netting on bridges
- Half the weight of glass with 11 times the impact strength; passes the ASTM E1996 large-missile hurricane test above 15 mm
- MASH TL-4 crash-tested system, FHWA eligibility letter, and a dedicated NYSDOT pay item; used on the Cuomo, Verrazzano, and Scudder Falls bridges
- Ohio DOT, with the most transparent barriers of any state, reports no major maintenance problems and self-cleaning panels
Cons
- No published price; every job is quoted through Durisol, Ekho, or a sheet distributor
- Cost is the drawback every agency names: about twice a concrete wall per Ohio DOT, and FHWA guidance says it can reach 20 times
- Reflective, not absorptive, unless you buy the angled SilentView frame
- Combustible CC2 acrylic with a 160°F (XT) or 180°F (GS CC) service limit; damaged panels are replaced, not repaired
- Clear panels kill birds; the striped Bird Guard version is a must near habitat, and no product-specific strike study exists
- A Texas field study found 80 percent of horizontal gaskets failed within a year, letting noise through the joints
Plaskolite OPTIX G BR Bullet-Resistant Acrylic Sheet
Pros
- 92 percent light transmission with no tint; the clearest ballistic glazing you can buy, and it polishes to a glass finish
- Level 1 acrylic at a 4 × 8 ft sheet runs $2,400 to $2,900 against about $9,800 for a UL-listed polycarbonate laminate at the same level
- Half the weight of bullet-resistant glass at the same UL level (about 7.7 lb per sq ft at Level 1)
- Cuts, drills, notches, and edge-polishes in the field with carbide tooling; flame polishing works because it is one solid sheet
- Available uncoated or with an abrasion-resistant coating; the Spartech equivalent adds an ANSI Z97.1 safety-glazing rating
- Made in the USA by a company that has been casting acrylic in Columbus since 1950
Cons
- Rigid: it can chip or crack under repeated hits and can deflect a round unpredictably toward the threat side, which is why installers keep it for interior barriers
- Tops out at Level 2 in pure acrylic; Level 3 (.44 Magnum) exists only as an acrylic-based alloy from Spartech, not from Plaskolite
- Softer than glass: ammonia or bleach cleaners craze it permanently, and a slipped drill bit leaves a mark
- Fire class CC2 and a 1.2 in/min burn rate; it is combustible plastic
- The frame must carry the same UL 752 rating as the sheet, so a finished single-station transaction window starts near $4,000 installed
- Plaskolite publishes thickness, level, and transmission but not weight, sheet sizes, or a UL file number; those figures come from distributors and the Spartech line