You’ve got a grow room, and you want to ensure it stays cool. Grow rooms are designed to be as efficient as possible so they don’t produce a lot of heat. However, that doesn’t mean the air inside isn’t hot enough to cause problems for your plants.
The best way to figure out what size HVAC unit you need is to measure the inside of your grow room. Then look up the recommended BTU/hr rating on an AC unit equal to or less than what you measured. For example, if your grow room measures 100 square feet and has no windows, the best option would be a unit with at least 5,000 BTUs/hr (2 tons) capacity.
The size of the air conditioner you need for your grow room depends on many factors:
- Your climate
- How much space you have
- How many plants you want to grow
- How much money you want to spend
These are all important factors when choosing the right air conditioner for your needs.
It can be hard to know what size you need if you’re looking for a new air conditioner for your grow room. First, you’ll want to ensure the AC is big enough to cool the entire grow room. If only one person is growing in the room, then a small AC will likely be fine.
However, you’ll want to get an AC that’s designed for larger spaces if:
- Multiple people are growing in the same space
- There are plants that require large amounts of water and air circulation
It’s also important to consider how much power your AC uses. It won’t work properly if it uses more energy than you have available in your home or business. You could even cause damage to other equipment in the building!
What Are the Factors to Consider When Shopping for an AC For a Grow Room?
When shopping for an air conditioner for your grow room, there are a few factors you’ll want to consider.
The first thing you’ll want to do is calculate the size of your grow space. First, measure the length and width of all four walls and add them together. Then multiply that by two to get the total cubic feet of your space.
Next, you’ll want to look at your power consumption needs. If you’re running any lights or fans in addition to the AC unit itself. This number will be higher than if you were running one fan and no lights.
Finally, look at how much noise level tolerance you have regarding sound levels coming out of the AC unit. While some models like the Lennox brand, are quieter, some can be very loud, even running at low speeds.
Here are some factors to consider when shopping for an AC:
- The size of the grow room or area where it will be used
- The desired temperature range for that space
- The surrounding environment (temperature and humidity levels)
- The amount of time the unit will be running each day
- The amount of airflow required to keep your plants healthy and growing at their best
- The power source – an AC unit can be plugged into a power source compatible with its power needs.
What Are the Different Types of Grow Room Air Conditioners?
The first thing to know about choosing an air conditioner for your grow room is that the size of your grow area will determine the size of your AC unit. For example, if you’re growing in a 4’x4’x8 ′ tent, then a 4,000 BTU air conditioner would be sufficient. However, if you were growing in a 16’x16′x8 ′ tent, you would want to use an 18,000 BTU air conditioner instead. This is because larger tents need more cooling power than smaller ones.
The types of grow room air conditioners that you can use are:
- Portable Air Conditioner (PAC)
- Window Air Conditioner
- Wall Mounted Air Conditioner
- Ceiling Mounted Air Conditioner
However, there are three main types of grow room air conditioners that are typically used:
- Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioner: this is an excellent choice if you have a large grow room but don’t want to spend money on a duct system. It’s also great for people who don’t have access to electricity.
- Window Air Conditioner: this is a good choice for people who don’t have access to electricity or want something cheap and easy to install. You can also get window ACs with timers and remote controls. This will allow you to set your temperatures and turn the unit on/off from anywhere in the house.
- Portable AC: these units are typically smaller than window units and are portable enough for you to move them between rooms or outside the house if needed. They’re also much quieter than window units, so they will not disturb sleeping children or pets!
How to Choose the Best Size Grow Room Air Conditioner?
There are several things to consider when choosing a grow room air conditioner. The first is the size of your grow room, which will determine the size of AC you need and how many BTUs it should have.
The second thing to consider is whether or not you want an evaporative system in your grow room. Evaporative systems extract heat from the air and release it into the room, which cools down the temperature. These systems are often used in hot climates because they can lower temperatures significantly without using as much energy as other types of cooling systems.
Lastly, there are two types of cooling systems: forced-air and water cooling. Forced-air systems use fans to circulate cold air throughout the room. Water cooling relies on water instead of air to cool down temperatures more efficiently than forced-air systems (but also costs more money).
The size of AC you need for your grow room depends on several factors, including:
- The number of lights in your grow room
- The size of your grow room or grow tent
- How much heat your lighting system generates
Calculations for Grow Room BTUs?
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. It measures the heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit. You can use this unit to calculate how much cooling power your grow room will need. When growing plants indoors, you need to keep them warm and comfortable. The best way to do this is with an air conditioner.
The first thing to look at is the BTUs of your grow room.
To calculate the BTUs of your grow room, take into account:
- Your desired temperature range for each season (example: 70 degrees Fahrenheit in winter; 75 degrees Fahrenheit in spring)
- The number of lights in your grow space (the more lights, the higher the BTU requirement)
- Your soil temperature (soil keeps roots cooler than air)
- Measure the width, length, and height of your grow space in square feet.
- Multiply those numbers together to get the total square footage of your grow room.
- Divide the total square footage by 144 (the number of square feet in an acre) to get your grow room’s BTU rating (in this case, .066).
- Multiply that number by 10,000 (the base unit for BTUs).
The amount of BTUs you need also depends on the climate in your grow room.
You can also use this formula to calculate how many plants will fit in a grow room. Multiply the total BTU output by 0.72 (for every 100 degrees over 80 degrees F) and divide that number by 10 (to account for 10% loss through insulation). This will give you the number of plants that can be grown in each square foot of space!
Understanding the Cannabis Plant’s Vascular System
Understanding the plant’s vascular system is key to creating a well-ventilated grow room. The vascular system is the network of veins that carries water and nutrients to all parts of a plant.
You can use this information to determine how much air your plants need in order to thrive and how much air you’ll need to get there.
A plant’s vascular system consists of two types of vessels:
- xylem
- phloem
Xylem carries water up from its roots through its leaves, while phloem carries sugars produced by photosynthesis down from its leaves. In addition to these two types of vessels, there are also smaller vessels called tracheid that help regulate water flow throughout the plant body.
The size of each vessel depends on where it’s located in the plant body. Xylem vessels carry water from roots up into stems and leaves. They are larger than phloem vessels because they carry more weight. They carry water instead of sugars or other nutrients like nitrogenous compounds (like amino acids). Phloem vessels carry sugars from leaves down toward other parts of the plant body; they’re smaller than xylem because they’re not carrying as much weight; sugars instead of water.
The xylem has many different functions, including:
- Transporting sap from roots to leaves (transpiration)
- Absorbing water from the soil through its root system into its body
- Moving minerals such as calcium and potassium from one part of a plant’s body to another part where they are needed
- Carrying sap that contains photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll), which can be used by other parts of a plant’s body
The vascular system is made up of tubes that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. The xylem and phloem work together to move nutrients through your grow room so your plants can thrive and grow as they need to!
The adsorption of water into the soil is known as osmosis. Osmosis is a natural process in all living things, including plants.
How Can The Cooling Company (TCC) Help Me Know What Size of AC I Need for My Grow Room?
If your grow room is in a basement or another area with no windows, it might be hard for you to tell how hot or cold it is without using a thermometer or other measuring device. If this is the case for you, we recommend installing a thermostat that will automatically turn on when the temperature drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21°C). It’s a good idea to ensure that everything will stay within an acceptable range even if someone forgets to check on things regularly.
As a general rule of thumb, you should also consider adding a space heater if there are times when temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15°C).
The Cooling Company has been helping cannabis growers with their air conditioning needs since it became legal in Nevada. We know what you need to keep your crop safe and healthy, and we’re here to help.
In a grow room, you need to be able to keep the temperature consistent, or it will slow down the growth of your plants. Your plants can suffer if the temperature gets too hot or cold. Call us to discuss the best air conditioning options for your grow room.
