Acrylic Vs Polycarbonate Skylights

Unlike some of its popular competitors such as fibreglass polycarbonate is completely transparent rather than translucent or opaque so it has the clarity of glass with few of the drawbacks.

Acrylic vs polycarbonate skylights.

If your main concern is illuminating a room then a clear acrylic dome would be best choice. Acrylic by it s nature can add a wavy distortion to the view and are usually tinted bronze. But acrylic is a bit more rigid than polycarbonate at room temperature so it is more likely to chip or crack when struck with a sharp or heavy object. If you are trying to soften the light or to eliminate glare then an acrylic skylight with a bronze or white tint is.

Polycarbonate offers much more resilience than acrylic making it ideal for highly demanding applications like bullet resistant windows. The view glass skylights have a near perfect transparency rating. Here are the 6 reasons why we think that polycarbonate is the superior choice for skylight material. Glass is better insulated and reduces unwanted outside noise by up to 50 less than an acrylic skylight.

This material type is a great solution for areas where panels need to undergo extreme abuse. Acrylic requires regular cleaning. Acrylic has a high gloss finish and is more transparent making it ideal for display cases. Polycarbonate sheet with trade names like lexan and makrolon polycarbonate panels are the epitome of strength and durability.

Acrylic is known for being about 10 times more impact resistant than glass while polycarbonate is about 250 times more impact resistant than glass. Acrylic sheet exhibits glass like qualities clarity brilliance and transparency but at half the weight and many times the impact resistance of glass. Polycarbonate is a tough transparent plastic material with outstanding strength stiffness and impact resistance. Polycarbonate is the stronger material at 250 times the impact resistance of standard glass.

Cost velux fixed skylight models are cheaper than acrylic. Velux skylights come with neat glass coating to keep your skylight cleaner longer leaving the surface virtually spotless. They re both fairly durable. Acrylic skylights are domed and stand out and look out dated.

Polycarbonate is 200 times stronger than glass and 15 times stronger than standard acrylic sheets. Acrylic skylights have the ability to take in sunlight from many angles which results in more overall light entering the room. Custom glass skylights cost more than custom acrylic skylights.