Armoire Idea

[skylined]

Assuming I have an armoire which is, say, 60 inches wide x 28 deep and about 7.5 feet high or so, would this be a workable system? 3 400 watt bulbs, hanging vertically above the plants. A 400 watt hortilux blue would be in the middle and the two on the sides would both be hortilux 430s. There would be two aerospring systems in rubbermaids (two seperate systems would easily fit too). Would this be an effective setup (the advantage is that the armoire is large but it's still completely stealthed. Plants would be moved around periodically so they can take advantage of all the spectrums. Thanks in advance for any comments.

Peace,
~Skylined


Edit - It would probably be possible to run 2 600s in this space, also vertical naked bulbs - would this be a superior arrangement?

 

[FreezerBoy]

How big's your A/C?

Calculating The Size of a Air Conditioner

 

[skylined]

More than sufficient during the summer, 8000 BTUs. During the winter simply opening the window a tiny bit is usually more than sufficient. Cooling is not an issue, I have that under control. My extraction fan is also a 6 inch, so it changes the air very rapidly.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I wasn't referring to central air. How big is the Armoire's A/C? A single 400 would be tricky enough to cool. 3? That's an EasyBake oven. I could be wrong but, I think you're headed off the cliff.

 

[Quazi]

You have roughly 10 square feet you're trying to light up.

At 50W per sq/ft you're looking at 500W for sufficient lighting conditions.

3X400 is going to be a cooling nightmare and definitely overkill for the space.

There are some others in the forums who have large armoirs that do not run anything near 1200W. They get fantastic results.

-Q

 

[dondeago]

Yeah man, 1200W in that space WILL be a pain in the ass to cool.
The first time i had a go at this hobby of ours i borrowed a 1000W and threw it in a wardrobe. BIG mistake. Killed my clones in an hr and after this short time the wardrobe was Really hot to touch.
I'd be thinking a 400W + a couple of good cfl's. the 125w ones just to supliment the spectrum.
You could simply suspend the cfl's off the pendants and have them hanging real close if not in the plants to get to the lower to middle bits that usualy get starved a little of light.
Just my opinion though.

 

[skylined]

I think you are all correct, too much wattage in a space. I'm certain I could keep two 430 Hortilux's cool, especially with my extraction fan and good cooling on the bulbs. Lets see now... 860 Watts / 11.5 square feet = 75 watts / square foot. Very nice.
Plants in hydroponic systems should be able to take advantage of the extra light.