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Greenhouse

ACRYLITE Corrugated Greenhouse Panels (High Impact Wave)

Single-skin corrugated acrylic, formerly sold as DEGLAS: 90 percent light transmission, 0.8 lb per square foot, a 30-year non-yellowing warranty, and a ten-year hail warranty. No insulation, so it is a roof for unheated houses and mild climates, and the cheapest rigid acrylic that will still be clear in twenty years.

4.2
From $645 per 5-panel bundle (3 mm clear, 6 ft)
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Pros

  • 90 percent light transmission, and independent testing found 81 to 88 percent still coming through after ten years
  • Same 30-year non-yellowing warranty as the multi-skin sheet, plus a 10-year hail and weathering warranty
  • 3 mm sheet at about 0.8 lb per sq ft; the wave profile gives it the stiffness to span purlins
  • UV-blocking, so plants and benches are protected
  • The lowest-priced rigid acrylic glazing sold by the bundle

Cons

  • Single skin: R-0.91, U-1.10, no meaningful insulation
  • The corrugated profile needs matching foam closure strips and profiled fasteners at every edge
  • Freight only, sold out in season, and 41-inch panels take more laps than 47-inch flat sheet
  • Combustible acrylic with a 160°F service limit, same as the flat sheet

Specifications

MaterialHigh-impact acrylic (PMMA), single skin, wave profile
Thickness3 mm
Sheet size41 in wide; 6 to 16 ft long, custom on request
Light transmission90% (91% PAR per trade testing); 81–88% after ten years
InsulationR-0.91, U-1.10
WeightAbout 0.8 lb per sq ft
UVUV-blocking
Service temperature160°F max
Warranty30 years non-yellowing; 10 years limited hail and weathering
PriceGreenhouse Megastore: from $645 per 5-panel bundle of 6 ft panels; 10-panel bundles available
ShippingMotor freight; tractor-trailer access and a person to unload
MakerACRYLITE (Polyvantis); formerly marketed as DEGLAS

Our Verdict

For an unheated hobby house, a season extender, or a roof over benches in a mild climate, this gives you acrylic's light and warranty at the lowest price. If you heat the house in winter, the money belongs in the twin-wall sheet instead.

4.2

Overview

The corrugated ACRYLITE panel is the other way to buy acrylic greenhouse glazing. Instead of two skins and an air gap, it is one 3 mm sheet of high-impact acrylic pressed into a wave profile, sold in 41-inch-wide panels from 6 to 16 feet long. For years it was marketed as DEGLAS, and the trade press still uses that name; the current listings call it the ACRYLITE High Impact Wave panel. It is our Best for Roofs and Budgets pick in the greenhouse panel roundup, and this review covers where it fits and where it does not.

We have not roofed with it. The numbers come from the distributor's listing, trade-press product reviews of DEGLAS, and the University of Arkansas greenhouse program, listed at the end.

Light

The listing rates the clear panel at 90 percent light transmission. Greenhouse Product News, reviewing acrylic greenhouse glazing, measured corrugated acrylic at 84 to 91 percent new and 81 to 88 percent after ten years, and quoted 91 percent transmission of photosynthetically active light. Those are better numbers than any polycarbonate offers on day one, and the ten-year figure is the point: polycarbonate yellows and loses light, acrylic does not. The University of Arkansas summary gives acrylic a 20 to 25 year life with minimal light loss over ten years.

The panel is UV-blocking. If you want UV to reach the plants, that is the Alltop multi-skin sheet, not this one.

No insulation

This is the trade. A single 3 mm skin insulates like a single pane of glass: R-0.91 and U-1.10 against R-2.04 and U-0.49 for the 16 mm twin-wall. A house glazed in corrugated acrylic will hold light beautifully and heat poorly. That is fine for a cold frame, a spring-and-fall season extender, a shade house, a chicken run, or a roof over a potting bench, and it is wrong for a house you intend to heat in January. Do the fuel math before choosing it for that.

Strength and weight

Corrugation is why a 3 mm sheet works as a roof. The wave profile gives the panel the stiffness to span between purlins that flat 3 mm acrylic would sag between, at about 0.8 pounds per square foot. The high-impact formulation is what the ten-year hail and weathering warranty rests on; the roundup notes the DEGLAS warranty as non-prorated with full replacement, and the listing carries the same 30-year non-yellowing promise as the flat sheet.

The profile also dictates the hardware. Every eave, ridge, and wall plate needs foam closure strips cut to the wave so the gaps are sealed against wind and insects, and fasteners go through the crest with profiled washers. Budget for those and for a 41-inch panel width that means more overlaps than the 47 1/4-inch multi-skin.

Heat, movement, and fire

Same acrylic, same rules. Maximum service temperature is 160°F. The sheet moves with heat and moisture, so holes are drilled oversize and fasteners are not cinched down. Acrylic is combustible, class CC2, and codes limit how much of a roof can be light-transmitting plastic; our acrylic vs glass guide explains the classes, and our acrylic vs polycarbonate guide is the honest comparison if impact and fire matter more to you than light.

Price and buying

Greenhouse Megastore lists the clear 3 mm corrugated panel from $645 for a bundle of five 6-foot panels, in five- and ten-panel bundles up to 16 feet, with custom sizes on request. Every combination was sold out when we checked, which is the seasonal pattern for all ACRYLITE glazing; order in late winter. Delivery is by motor freight with tractor-trailer access and someone present to unload.

Per square foot that is roughly half the cost of the 16 mm twin-wall, and the comparison to buy against is corrugated polycarbonate, which is cheaper still, tougher, and yellowing by year five.

Who should buy it

Anyone glazing an unheated or lightly heated structure who wants the light and the twenty-year clarity of acrylic at the lowest price. Anyone heating through winter should read the 16 mm multi-skin review first.

Sources