Intake / Outake in a Winter Apartment ??

[Dreamscape]

I live in the New England area and the winters are still cold around these parts.

I've got a bedroom with A single window I could use however that particular window is directly across from the next building which is about 15-20 feet over.

I was thinking of using this window for the intake BUT:

#1. Winter air will kill the plants i'm sure.
#2. Its too close to the neighbors. Also i'm in the 2nd, middle floor, apartment.
#3. I have a carbon filter however I dont have anywhere except the rest of the apt for outtake.

I'd be using a couple of T8 flouro's for veg and then switching them out for 2 600w HPS digi's for flower.

Any ideas ?

I dont really know where else to pull air from and its really stressing me out ...

any constructive, positive growth oriented help is greatly appreciated

 

[BeeBee]

I've built a couple of setups that used a window as part of the ventilation. The exact modification you will make depends on the type of window, and how much notice it will attract if it's left open all the time.
For example, with 2 600 hps, you will need about 150 cfm (a 4 inch inline fan) at the hottest time of year (if you can draw intake air 72 degrees or cooler--say from an air-conditioned building). So you need the window opening to be about 14 square inches. Open the window that much or a little more, and then put up some venetian blinds, or, better but more expensive, plantation shutters. Then, build a five-sided plywood box that covers the entire window, to mount to the wall or window frame, and cut your 4 inch duct opening into the box. Paint the inside of the box flat black. The box only needs to be about 6 inches deep, but deeper is OK if you have the space. From outside the window, all you should see is the window covering.
For noise control, make sure you use a carbon filter on the intake of the fan, and at least 6 feet of insulated flexible ducting between the fan and the window.
There are a lot of options for window covering, just as long as you get enough air flow, without having too much motion. You can even put a small night-light in the box (on a timer), so that it seems like the lights are on in the room sometimes.
I built one of these for a friend who has 6 600 watt lights and an 8 inch fan, but we had to use plantation shutters to eliminate motion.
You can even make a box for both intake and exhaust, if the window opens in two different spots, say top and bottom like a double-hung window. Just make a divider in the box--you have to be creative.
Freezing intake air is not really a problem, but you won't need much of it, so put a speed-controller on the fan. In the summer, the outside air may be too hot and humid to be of any use.

To summarize:
It's easy to use a window. The box is needed to contain the light, and make the window look normal from outside. Noise should not be a problem with a 4 inch fan.

 

[Dreamscape]

BeeBee - you are a f$cking godsend

One small question though ... Would I be able to accomplish something somewhat similar by cutting a hole in the dry wall - just below the windows frame - and plucking out all the insulation.

Then mounting a box over that and placing a fan in it?

I only ask because I questioned a growers room one time when he didn't have an intake and his reply was "look at this huge exhaust fan, its pulling so hard that it's pulling in all the air around it."

So my thinking now is "well I dont need DIRECT contact to the air because it'll be sucked in through the wood" ...

any thoughts ??

 

[Charg5152]

No fan that you would use would be able to draw air through wood fibers. If the window is drafty and un-insulated than you might get some intake through those means, but I would not count on it.

 

[Dreamscape]

Thanks for the info.

WHat would you suggest for a summertime setup with this window then?

Because it would have to suck in the hot , smelly air into the A/C , which would then likely leak the scent outside.