Growing Indoors Efficiently

[mojave green]

By far, my #1 expense is electricity. Because I live in a dry climate, I utilized evaporative cooling for my room which is ALOT less expensive than a/c. Other than dry climates need not apply!

However, for the rest of you, it is my understanding that mini-splits are the way to go.
Another thing I looked at was the cfm's/watt of various types/manufacturers of ventilation fans. For entire grow room exhaust I went with a cancan 14" which gives me 6.72 cfm/watt! My 2 10" cancans i use for bloom room exhaust/intake only get 4.47 cfm/watt, but design constraints came into play.
It is my understanding that 600w ballasts/bulbs are the most efficient of the hid type lighting so that is what i use.
Building and locating false/movable walls/curtains of reflective material helps contain otherwise lost light.
On a much more subjective note, I think vertical doughnuts are more efficient than any other lighting arrangement (flame on!)

What have you done to increase the efficiency of your indoor grow?

mg
​

 

[farmari]

14" Can Max is very efficient cfm per watt at low resistence, but in high resistence settings it can have a very poor output. You need to figure out the static pressure that your fan will be under before determining what will be most efficient in your circumstance.

1000w double ended bulbs are more efficient than 600w bulbs, in terms of lumens per watt. Although having a greater number of less powerful lights overlapping each other can be more efficient in terms of actual output... and 1000w double ended bulbs cannot be used vertically.

Getting the intake and exhausts just right can be big in improving efficiency. If the intakes are located and aimed well, it can mean less watts used on fans and lower canopy temps. And ducting in general, threads in this forum have a lot of great info about making ductwork as efficient as possible... a fan might say 1000cfm but if the ventilation is set up poorly then the real output might be 500cfm or lower.

Regularly check the condition of prefilters.

For dehumidification needs, use mini splits whenever possible. They usually have a separate dehumidify mode.

 

[Floridian]

What is a 1K double ended bulb?Evertone knows a bulb has 4 ends anyway

 

[Boo]

a bulb has one end my friend...Phillips has designed a new double ended bulb that is supposedly more efficient and better par value...

why do you say a bulb has 4 ends, just curious...

 

[PrivateAero]

My buddy had an hvac guy check his ducting and it was moving around a hundred cfm from 8" Blowers. He set up a central air unit running through his hoodsditched his blowers.

Privateaero

 

[Floridian]

C'mon, you cant be serious.You got the front end the back end and the two side ends.

 

[Jnugg]

C'mon, you cant be serious.You got the front end the back end and the two side ends.

Meh....HID bulbs throw very little light forward and aft...a.k.a. from the tips...all useable light comes from the sides of the bulb.

 

[Boo]

doh, you got a socket end, the tip, and the sides...I agree that mH doesn't throw light forward and aft but the useable light generates massive heat...I've found I prefer T-5's over the big blue bulbs any day of the week...HPS is hard to beat in flower...

 

[rbt]

By far, my #1 expense is electricity. Because I live in a dry climate, I utilized evaporative cooling for my room which is ALOT less expensive than a/c.

Let me let you in on a little secret evaporative is NOT! cheaper than AC today. Window mounted is not running ac it is supplemental to an existing environment not efficient or wise. With a minisplit you can run 220 voltage cheaper 24 SEER rating or better and set the humidity level. Here is one place "AC wholesalers " you can order online and buy parts most states you need a Mechanical HVAC license to work with refrigerants and CA. is a big one for that. If you are not experienced with working with refrigerants get someone who is YOU Tube will tell you why for the DIY's

I once had a grow in a town called Landfair. Trudged around the Boron Mine going the back way to Search light. A question if you are in the Mohave you have some of the best light and going subterranean no matter how much it will help fantastically. But you have a average of 11" rain annually and a .05 humidity. I would suggest a water chiller and using cooling fins where a evaporative pad is this will also run CO'2 and RO system at the same time keeping res temps down regulating humidity in the Desert it can be rough. But hey you have some of the BEST UVB sun available and 280 days of full sun. there are some great grow'n going on in the Imperial valley​

 

[mojave green]

Let me let you in on a little secret evaporative is NOT! cheaper than AC today.

mine is!
here is a good read:

Evaporative coolers cost about one-half as much to install as central air conditioners and use about one-quarter as much energy.

http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/evaporative-coolers
mg

 

[coldcanna]

If I was out in the desert like you the first thing I'd save up for is solar panels... You gotta figure with the watts your using up the panels would pay for themselves in a couple years. Granted we don't all have that kinda money up front I feel your pain there, panels are on my dream list lol, not a reality. On the bright side at least you don't have to run dehueys AND air conditioning like us not so fortunate souls

 

[mojave green]

If I was out in the desert like you the first thing I'd save up for is solar panels... You gotta figure with the watts your using up the panels would pay for themselves in a couple years. Granted we don't all have that kinda money up front I feel your pain there, panels are on my dream list lol, not a reality. On the bright side at least you don't have to run dehueys AND air conditioning like us not so fortunate souls

in my area, i could go with wind or solar for my indoor, add a greenhouse for outdoor, and i'd be home!

 

[The Meadows]

I utilized evaporative cooling for my room
​

I share the same desert. Last year we got less than 4" of rain and it hit 117°F in the shade. I'd like to know where they found shade.

I've depended on my central a/c to cool my house and 2kw room. I vent my lights into the attic.

Due to the oppressive temperatures, I shut down for several months a year. It seems my central a/c can only cool the house 25-30°F below outside temperature. That means my living room gets up to 90°F and the grow room gets hotter than that.

Is it possible to use an evaporative cooler for just 1 room? I know the evaporative coolers depend on air flow but I'm not 100% clear on it. Since I'm venting the room into the attic and passively sucking air from the rest of the house into the room, is that enough air flow?

Middle of February and we'll be flirting with 80°F today.

Stay cool.

 

[coldcanna]

Hey Meadows have you thought about adding an AC to the room itself? I'd seal off the room completely and have an independent cooling system from the rest of your house. You could use a window banger or a floor standing unit. Also another simple thing is to run the lights at night...

 

[budleydoright]

I share the same desert. Last year we got less than 4" of rain and it hit 117°F in the shade. I'd like to know where they found shade.

I've depended on my central a/c to cool my house and 2kw room. I vent my lights into the attic.

Due to the oppressive temperatures, I shut down for several months a year. It seems my central a/c can only cool the house 25-30°F below outside temperature. That means my living room gets up to 90°F and the grow room gets hotter than that.

Is it possible to use an evaporative cooler for just 1 room? I know the evaporative coolers depend on air flow but I'm not 100% clear on it. Since I'm venting the room into the attic and passively sucking air from the rest of the house into the room, is that enough air flow?

Middle of February and we'll be flirting with 80°F today.

Stay cool.

An evaporative cooler can only do a 5-10 degree drop. Requires low humidity and completely stops working when the RH is high. Your room will be completely dependent on outside conditions.

 

[mojave green]

An evaporative cooler can only do a 5-10 degree drop.

not sure what yours can do, but my house is cooled with nothing but an evap cooler. house interior has never been over 80f while 105/110f outside. grow room in barn hits 85f midday once in a while during july/august but drops back down to 75/80 at night. the other 10 months of year, grow room stays where i put it...75f or so.

Requires low humidity

correct. i'ts efficiency goes down as rh rises.

and completely stops working when the RH is high.

how high?

Your room will be completely dependent on outside conditions.

huh?

 

[budleydoright]

not sure what yours can do, but my house is cooled with nothing but an evap cooler. house interior has never been over 80f while 105/110f outside. grow room in barn hits 85f midday once in a while during july/august but drops back down to 75/80 at night. the other 10 months of year, grow room stays where i put it...75f or so.

correct. i'ts efficiency goes down as rh rises.

how high?

huh?

No way will mine work that well and I have a mastercool! perhaps I'm a bit low on that.

I just meant your room temps will move a bit with the outside temps.

Mine quits working pretty much 100% when there's any rain in the area. We probably live in simular climates. They aren't used in too many parts of the country.