Abstract

Greenhouse cladding materials are an important part of greenhouse design.The cladding material controls the light transmission and distribution over theplants within the greenhouse, thereby exerting a major influence on the over-all yield. Greenhouse claddings are typically translucent materials offeringmore diffusive transmission than reflection; however, the reflective propertiesof the films offer a potential route to increasing the surface albedo of the localenvironment. We model thermal properties by modeling the films based ontheir optical transmissions and reflections. We can use this data to estimatetheir albedo and determine the amount of short wave radiation that will betransmitted/reflected/blocked by the materials and how it can influence thelocal environment.