Pole Barn Eave Lighting - Clear or Translucent White

jmd4j · Feb 9, 2015

I'm having trouble deciding on what type of eave light panel to go with, and was just wondering what everyone elses opinion on the matter was. I have completed a 48x50 pole barn and left 3' on my lengthwise wall to put up the panels. I bounce back and forth from the clear to the translucent white, but it's time to decide. I like the look of the white better from seeing other photos of eave lighting, but prefer the clear when it comes to the lighting aspect. This is mainly for an aircraft hangar, but also a couple of tractors and miscellaneous equipment will be inside. I have lights it it, so thats not a deciding factor of the two. Fading on the inside was one of my concerns with the clear but the barn also has a 24" overhang, so I'm not overly concerned about that now. I just wanted to see how some others experience have been who have installed these panels.

jwstewar · Feb 9, 2015

We built our barn last year. It is a 36' x 54' for livestock. We went with 2' of clear polycarbonate. So far we are really happy with it. Lets a lot of light in and hasn't discolored or cracked or anything. I don't care for the looks of the light and we wanted as much light as possible for the goats.

masscity · Feb 10, 2015

My 40x60 has been up a year now. The top 2' is clear and I love it. It's like being outside.

woodchipper · Feb 13, 2015

The advantage of choosing polycarbonate, versus plexiglass, or fibreglass, is that it will stay clear and will not "yellow out" in years to come. As well, they will not get brittle like the others over time, as the sun do not affect their molecular integrity. Polycarbonate is also way stronger. It can give a lot before breaking, to the contrary from the others. Thick laminated polycarbonate panels are sometimes used as bullet proof windows...

MitchellB · Feb 13, 2015

When I built our little storage shed about 10 years ago, I also left a 2' section along each side of the roof where I used the clear roofing panels from Lowes. They matched the corrugations from the metal roofing I used and were an easy addition. I was apprehensive about using them, thinking they would not hold up well and end up cracking with age.

However, so far they have no problems, and while a little stained from tree sap and dust provide much needed daytime lighting in a building without any electricity or other lighting.