This is the thermal screen we run for greenhouse climate control, where the job is not only to block the midday sun but to hold some of that warmth once the light goes. The cloth is knitted from HDPE tape with a UV stabiliser in the yarn, so it keeps its weave through long sun hours, and the open mesh lets hot air move out during the day rather than sealing the house into a still pocket. We run it at around 86 percent shade for a house that needs the heat load cut hard, and the rate is made to order. Growers run it as an internal screen over greenhouse frames and hydroponic benches.
A greenhouse runs two climates in one day: a hot, bright midday and a cooler night that can cost more to hold than the day does. This thermal screen is knitted from HDPE tape with a UV stabiliser in the yarn, so it cuts the midday sun without sealing the house into a still pocket of hot air.
The screen takes the edge off the midday sun, which is what keeps a crop from stalling in the heat, and because the mesh is open it lets that hot air move out rather than trapping it over the plants. Run as an internal screen, it also slows the heat that escapes at night, so the house does not swing as hard between day and night. For a grower running a tight climate, that steadier range is the point of using a screen rather than a plain shade cloth.
The UV stabiliser slows the breakdown that turns plain netting brittle and grey, so the same screen keeps its rating across more of the season.
The screen goes over greenhouse frames as an internal cover, across hydroponic benches and over small houses where the job is cutting sunlight while holding the night temperature steadier. Because the shade rate is made to order, the same screen covers a house that needs the heat load cut hard and a lighter setup that wants a gentler reduction. Growers running pots under the same cover often pair it with a planting bag, and the wider shade net range covers the reflective and coloured types where the job calls for something other than a plain knitted cloth.
| Material | HDPE knitted screen |
| Shade Rate | 86%, made to order |
| Energy Saving Rate | 30% |
| Function | UV sun protection, heat load reduction |
| Finish | Not coated |
| Edge | Stitched hem with rope |
| Use | Greenhouse internal screen, hydroponic bench |
| Model | SC-011 |
| Packing | Export package, customised on request |
Shade rate is the first number to settle because it decides how much heat the house sheds at midday. We run this screen at around 86 percent for a house that needs the heat load cut hard, and the rate is made to order where a lighter screen is wanted. The open mesh is what keeps the climate workable, because hot air moves out instead of sitting over the crop. A knitted monofilament net covers the same idea where a finer weave is wanted, while this screen covers the standard greenhouse climate job.
Width, length and shade rate are all made to order, so the first detail to confirm is the span of the house you are screening and the shade rate the crop wants. Rolls ship in export packing and are cut to suit the frame. Growers tracking how greenhouse screening performs across a season can follow trade coverage such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza for what is being installed on commercial sites.
Can one screen shade by day and warm by night?
Run as an internal screen, it cuts the midday sun and also slows the heat that escapes at night, so the house does not swing as hard between day and night.
What shade rate should I order?
Around 86 percent suits a house that needs the heat load cut hard. A lighter screen suits a setup that wants a gentler reduction. Tell us the crop and the site and we will advise.
Does the screen block air as well as light?
No. The mesh is open, so hot air moves through, which is what keeps the house workable rather than sealed into a still pocket.
Tell us the span, the shade rate and the crop you are working to, and we will confirm the width and the packing that suit your order.
Mark Wu, Co-founder & Technical Director, Sichuan Zhifang Net Industry. 15 years manufacturing agricultural nettings for growers in 32 countries.
