Converting 24x48' for grow. AC? Mini split?

[SleazyWolf]

We are moving into a new place that has an insulated shop for me. So no more growing in tents. The building will be used for growing and "man cave". The man cave is currently about half the shop at about 503 sq feet.

Was thinking:

Flower room: 17x11' standard height ceiling.
(already have 10x 315w CMH air cooled hoods for it)

Veg Room: 14x11' 15' ceiling
(was thinking 2x dimmable 1000w DE ballast with air cooled hoods)

Lab/Work space: 17x24'
Big open space, not enclosed in its own room.

How should I go about cooling everything? It already has 2 large electric heaters for when its cold.

I was going to pull air out of the Veg room and through all of my lights to outside. That should cool the lights and keep my veg room cool enough if the rest of the shop is cooled I think. The rest of the shop will essentially be 3 sealed rooms.

Should I get a real AC or mini split? Tri zone? What size? Current owner said the shop hovers around 80-85 in the summer. But thats just the shop without growing in it.

Would also like to try co2 now that I will have a sealed flowering room if that changes anything.

 

[Speed of green]

If you own the space and what you plan to do long term should determine mini split vs real ac.

(10) 315's and (2) DE 1000's aren't going to put out that much heat. That being said if you wanted to upgrade one day to say (10) 1000's you will wish you had bought the larger ac to begin with.

If you own it or plan on being there long term i say go with a true split system, for the price of a cooling only 5 ton i say its beats a mini split every day of the week.
http://ingramswaterandair.com/rheem...70_a_7c17239&gclid=CNjo773HgswCFQetaQodJpMPUw
The only downside is that you would have to keep the air handler in the flower room in order to keep it sealed. You also would need some crafty ductwork to cool the rest of the warehouse with your non co2 filled air. some sort of Y with a damper on the intake and exhaust. Or multiple air handlers, custom plumbed to one condensing(outdoor) unit.

if you went with a multi-head mini split you would have an easier install and probably more functional system a higher price tag and less total cooling capacity.

http://www.ecomfort.com/Mitsubishi-...GLEPLA-53501&gclid=CMKCiefZgswCFZY1aQodRHQEcA

For a 4-5 zone mini split 3-4 ton capacity you are probably looking at 4-5k plus install.

 

[SleazyWolf]

If you own the space and what you plan to do long term should determine mini split vs real ac.

(10) 315's and (2) DE 1000's aren't going to put out that much heat. That being said if you wanted to upgrade one day to say (10) 1000's you will wish you had bought the larger ac to begin with.

If you own it or plan on being there long term i say go with a true split system, for the price of a cooling only 5 ton i say its beats a mini split every day of the week.
http://ingramswaterandair.com/rheem...70_a_7c17239&gclid=CNjo773HgswCFQetaQodJpMPUw
The only downside is that you would have to keep the air handler in the flower room in order to keep it sealed. You also would need some crafty ductwork to cool the rest of the warehouse with your non co2 filled air. some sort of Y with a damper on the intake and exhaust. Or multiple air handlers, custom plumbed to one condensing(outdoor) unit.

if you went with a multi-head mini split you would have an easier install and probably more functional system a higher price tag and less total cooling capacity.

http://www.ecomfort.com/Mitsubishi-...GLEPLA-53501&gclid=CMKCiefZgswCFZY1aQodRHQEcA

For a 4-5 zone mini split 3-4 ton capacity you are probably looking at 4-5k plus install.

Thank you for the reply. It looks like we will be starting the room builds this weekend, so I would like to sort this out.

I think I'm going to forgo the air cooled hoods. Then I don't have to worry about the venting set up.

I would like to be able to cool all 4 rooms and have the flower room sealed. I'm guessing a mini split with 4 zones would be easiest, but could I do it with conventional ac?

Can I run two air handlers off of one condenser not using a mini split? That way I could hang one air handler in the sealed flower room and duct the other one to make it a tri zone?

And finally how large of a system. I'm guessing about 16k btu flower, 8k btu veg, Work and home theater rooms 18k btu for both? So that would be a 3.5 ton?

 

[Cheesegez]

air con is the best option but if your using aircon completely seal the room this has pros and cons, you will need co2 which if sourced correctly is inexpensive i get 35kg gas for 50 quid
you will need a dihumidifier and a humidifier
this is brilliant if you need to contain the smell ive been growing like this for years .. this is a calculation for what amount of BTU's you need per killowatt of light/heat always all 20% extra mind
1KW is equivalent to 3500BTUs. and obviously circulating fans

sealed room air con C02 coco week 7

 

[Cheesegez]

i have 36.000 btu and 9x600w non air cooled lights ,, at that sits the room nicely at 27 and when it goes dark it switches to heat mode you just select the temps .. the ac unit i have is split and is designed for grow rooms its called the optima ,, might sruggle finding it from a small company in devon uk ,, brilliant piece of kit tho

 

[Speed of green]

Thank you for the reply. It looks like we will be starting the room builds this weekend, so I would like to sort this out.

View Image

I think I'm going to forgo the air cooled hoods. Then I don't have to worry about the venting set up.

I would like to be able to cool all 4 rooms and have the flower room sealed. I'm guessing a mini split with 4 zones would be easiest, but could I do it with conventional ac?

Can I run two air handlers off of one condenser not using a mini split? That way I could hang one air handler in the sealed flower room and duct the other one to make it a tri zone?

And finally how large of a system. I'm guessing about 16k btu flower, 8k btu veg, Work and home theater rooms 18k btu for both? So that would be a 3.5 ton?

You want to run multiple air handlers off one condensing unit, its possible but you need a good hvac guy to install everything.

the condensing unit i would oversize, 5 ton vs 3.5ton you are only saving a few hundred bucks.

you want one air handler in the flower room, and another in either the shop or home entertainment room.

i would use either the home entertainment room or the shop as a lung room for the veg.

Hopefully you are in a med state or know you hvac guy well because this is going to raise some interesting questions

 

[mojave green]

If you're in an arid climate, swamp cool it. Otherwise, carry on.

 

[queequeg152]

where did you come up with 3.5 tons?

18kw will yield at least 60kbtuh... + external heat gains + latent heat gain. + solar heat gain if you have windows. + other equipment.

before you spend 5-10 grand on equipment. you need to do a manual J calculation... or have someone do one for you.

 

[theLumberjack]

agreed swamp coolers ftw.... cant use co2 though.

 

[Speed of green]

where did you come up with 3.5 tons?

18kw will yield at least 60kbtuh... + external heat gains + latent heat gain. + solar heat gain if you have windows. + other equipment.

before you spend 5-10 grand on equipment. you need to do a manual J calculation... or have someone do one for you.

I think you misread his earlier post, He wants to use (10) 315watt cmh for flower & (2) 1000's for veg.

________________________________________________________

i agree with mojave, definitely swamp cool if you live in an arid climate, save some big bucks.

 

[SleazyWolf]

You want to run multiple air handlers off one condensing unit, its possible but you need a good hvac guy to install everything.

the condensing unit i would oversize, 5 ton vs 3.5ton you are only saving a few hundred bucks.

you want one air handler in the flower room, and another in either the shop or home entertainment room.

i would use either the home entertainment room or the shop as a lung room for the veg.

Hopefully you are in a med state or know you hvac guy well because this is going to raise some interesting questions

I am in a medical state. I'm currently looking at the YMGI mini splits. I like the 5ton with 4 heads. Either the (2x18k + 2x12k) or (2x12k + 18k + 24k) with the same handler. That way I can run one head In each room. I was thinking a 12k for veg with either package and either the 24k or 18k for flower depending on which package.

where did you come up with 3.5 tons?

18kw will yield at least 60kbtuh... + external heat gains + latent heat gain. + solar heat gain if you have windows. + other equipment.

before you spend 5-10 grand on equipment. you need to do a manual J calculation... or have someone do one for you.

Flower room is only about 4K of power with my lights and equipment. 10x315w=3150w. And veg will be 2k plus a few fans.

If you're in an arid climate, swamp cool it. Otherwise, carry on.

Won't work here

 

[queequeg152]

i would not spend money on a no name minisplit if you are looking for a real multi cassette set up... its just asking for trouble.

get the mr slim system with the refrigerant manifold that has all of the electronic expansion valves.

or just build a zoned duct system using much cheaper single stage conventional equipment.