Glass greenhouse sheds lead new trends in industry development

This type of greenhouse boasts excellent insulation, making it ideal for off-season vegetable production or crop cultivation even during the harsh winter months in northern regions—hence its growing popularity. The remarkable heat-retention capability and practicality of solar greenhouses are largely due to their thick wall structures, which are typically made of earth. During construction, we often add an extra layer of non-woven fabric on the exterior of the walls, followed by a spray of cement mortar, giving the greenhouse a sleek and attractive appearance.

Typically, a standard solar greenhouse spans about 100 meters from east to west, with an internal front-to-back width of around 10 meters. Excluding the wall sections, the front roof now commonly features an all-steel frame structure—robust and highly reliable—covered with specialized PO film designed for greenhouses, complete with anti-drip and anti-aging properties, along with thermal blankets and a rolling curtain system. The construction cost for such a solar greenhouse exceeds 100,000 yuan when labor and materials are fully included, translating to roughly 40,000 to 50,000 yuan per mu. Of course, if certain high-end components are slightly downgraded during the setup, the overall cost can be reduced further, potentially dropping to around 40,000 yuan per mu.

Due to functional requirements, the internal front-to-back span of this type of solar greenhouse can also be designed as 8 meters, 9 meters, 11 meters, 12 meters, or even larger—though the cost per mu may vary, the difference isn’t significant.

2. Arched Film Greenhouse Shelter

This type of arched greenhouse is also widely used—in spring early planting, autumn late harvesting, seedling cultivation, and even livestock farming—across vast regions in central and southern China, as well as in northern areas. Depending on their structure and functionality, the construction costs per mu can vary significantly, primarily due to differences in the frame design and labor expenses: a simpler structure will cost less per mu, while a more complex one will incur higher expenses.

Thin-film vegetable greenhouse
The image above shows a commonly used, simple arch greenhouse, offered with both labor and materials included. The construction cost for one mu is approximately 17,000 yuan—less than 20,000 yuan.

Thin-film multi-span greenhouse
This is a multi-span film greenhouse, offered with both labor and materials included, costing approximately 66,000 yuan per mu.

Multi-span Film Greenhouse

If the application demands higher standards, the film greenhouse can also be built to even stricter specifications. This type of modern, multi-span film greenhouse—complete with labor and materials—costs just over 100,000 yuan per mu. Inside, it can be equipped with advanced features such as internal and external shading systems, insulation systems, automated irrigation, and fertilization systems, enabling state-of-the-art agricultural production.

There’s also this type of multi-span smart greenhouse, as shown in the picture. It represents the mainstream modern smart greenhouse design internationally, though it comes at a higher cost—typically calculated per square meter. Increasingly, more growers are adopting this greenhouse structure, and it has now become widely popular. The standard construction cost ranges from 260 to 500 yuan per square meter.

These common types of greenhouse structures—or vegetable greenhouses—are typically priced on a turnkey basis, meaning both labor and materials are included. If you’re already familiar with the greenhouse industry and know how to source materials and hire workers yourself, your costs will likely be similar to the quoted price. However, if you’re not fully confident in handling this process, it’s advisable to entrust the project to a professional greenhouse construction company that offers a complete turnkey service. This way, you can avoid potential pitfalls, as managing material procurement and installation on your own may lead to unpredictable expenses and inefficiencies along the way.