Insulation Under Clear Roof?

[feathermaid]

As my profile suggests, I am in Aus and we do do hot and sunny summers

We have the Suntuf polycarbonate panels in grey on our coop and run and it does not get too hot in the coop which is bright and airy:

View attachment 1381563

Oh Wow! I love it... thank you! I wonder why more people don't use this type of roof.

 

[Teila]

Oh Wow! I love it... thank you! I wonder why more people don't use this type of roof.

To be honest, I do not really know. I too have heard lots of comments about not using it and for that reason, do not very often share that we do use it

Some say it is too bright I think but like you, I like bright and it does not appear to upset my girls at all. It has stood up to torrential tropical rain, hail and the winds associated with tropical storms and is quieter than cgi when rain and hail are falling on it

Plus, it looks good!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ooh- that's a great idea! How do you know what humidity level is acceptable? And then how would you fix it if all the vents are open? Would insulation help... or cutting more windows?

My goals with humidity is to keep it as close to outside humidity as possible.

Let say it is 40° F outside with humidity of 50%. If my readings inside are 60% or more I make sure to remove water dishes from the coop, clean up any poo and open another vent if I have any closed.

If it is more than 75% inside while 50% or lower outside I do a full bedding change in addition to opening all the vents.

Something to remember is if it is you wont be able to get lower humidity inside then what it is outside.
It helps knowing in winter to manage moisture to prevent frostbite.

I wanted to use some suntuff on my coop. I also wanted my metal roof. The two wouldnt mesh correctly so I did full metal but made a bunch of windows.
I like a bright coop as well.

 

[feathermaid]

My goals with humidity is to keep it as close to outside humidity as possible.

Let say it is 40° F outside with humidity of 50%. If my readings inside are 60% or more I make sure to remove water dishes from the coop, clean up any poo and open another vent if I have any closed.

If it is more than 75% inside while 50% or lower outside I do a full bedding change in addition to opening all the vents.

Something to remember is if it is you wont be able to get lower humidity inside then what it is outside.
It helps knowing in winter to manage moisture to prevent frostbite.

I wanted to use some suntuff on my coop. I also wanted my metal roof. The two wouldnt mesh correctly so I did full metal but made a bunch of windows.
I like a bright coop as well.

That is all so good to know! Thank you for sharing!!

 

[sirrobyn0]

I'm going to add to this. If the roofing does prove to let in to much heat, instead of insulating, consider purchasing 1/4" plywood and painting it with something reflective, probably either white or silver. Then you'd screw the plywood panels to the underside of the roof rafters from the inside. You could cut the panels down to make them a more manageable size they wouldn't have to cover every square inch of roof but it should reflect that heat out, without the risks of insulation, such as mouse infestation.