Adjustawing vs air cooled, which is more efficient?

matatan

matatan

Well-Known Member
2 part question , first electricity , which will cost more? For example let's say I have 2 1000w hps in nonair cooled reflectors with an AC obviously, cooling the room. Vs same 1000s under aircooled reflectors with an 8in fan sucking hot air? I would need an AC anyway in this setup to keeps temps down... correct? Maybe not on winter time but def in the summer...

2, results, air cooled will allow me to keep lights closer but the closer the lights the are the less the footprint... so the edges of the 4x4 or 5x5 footprint will suffer ...


I'm planning my future growroom and want to above anything, have it separate from my home, I don't want ducting running g out of a door.... even it will heat an outside room,heat would still be used, lights r only on 12hours..

Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
ROBSTERB

ROBSTERB

Well-Known Member
the cost would be tiny, the fan would be the only diff, so if the fan is 100 watts then over 12 hours it would cost you about 10 pence(or whatever you are charged per kilowatt for electric) however if you use a coolshade then the AC wont have to work any where near as hard/much so wont be on as long, saving you money.
 
roidrage152

roidrage152

Active Member
You also have to factor in the fact that you lose light efficiency when shining it through the glass of a hood. Lets say for arguments sake it could be up to 5-10% light loss?
 
matatan

matatan

Well-Known Member
roidrage152 said:
You also have to factor in the fact that you lose light efficiency when shining it through the glass of a hood. Lets say for arguments sake it could be up to 5-10% light loss?
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i guess so, but that same amount is gained back or more because the lights are able to be closer, inverse square law


Elloco said:
from what i remember reading from the bible doesnt the adjustawing have the best light spread?
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i just went through that chapter, yes it does.
 
matatan

matatan

Well-Known Member
air cooled it is. i planned on doing 4 plants per light, but i just read over the bible and it says 3 600s deliver more light than 2 1000s. 3 points of light, closer to plants and bigger footprint.
12 plants or 10? i wanted to hit a pound per light with the 1000s, with 600s is that possible? without using a scrog that is, i like mobility.
 
J

jpill

Well-Known Member
I used to run non air cooled lights in a very tropical non medical state :) 6 1k's and a 4 ton central AC. That 4 ton would blow non stop when those lights were on. My electric bill was only 400 (no one lived there). I miss those days :(

Since i've moved out west I use aircooled lights. I brought that same 4 ton AC with and still use it . I don't use it have as much now even with a co2 generator running.
I have total control over the temps in my room now. Also helps with the power bill. Cali electric has to be the most expensive in the country.

Go aircooled. That way you can control temps better and you won't need to use that noisey AC so much. But if your using a wall unit it will probably run non stop anyway. Get a 1 or 2 ton mini split if you have a 6-8 light room running
 
Elite Nugz

Elite Nugz

Active Member
Id say Adjustawing all the way.

Believe it or not... the glass on those air cooled reflectors filter out a lot of light. Then if you even have a very thin layer of dust on that glass, then your loosing even more light. Also the glass is known to filter out most, if not all of the UV-B rays. UV-B rays are known for making plants pack on more trichomes as a natural plant sunscreen.

I have a bunch of Raptors and I remove the glass from them. No ducting, means no ventilation fans. You just need a decent Split Unit AC, set to energy saver mode and your good to go. With air cooled... you have to run the vent fans to keep them cool and most of the time you still need to run an AC to keep things at perfect temperatures. I think its MUCH easier to control your rooms environment with open reflectors, over air cooled. Air cooled... if its hot outside, then your reflectors are going to run hotter, changing the temp of your room. If its cold outside, then the temps gonna most likely go down in your room. With open reflectors and a split unit AC, the reflectors are always going to produce the same amount of heat. So you set your AC accordingly and every day your temps will be the exact same and on point.

So I would go with the Ajustawings.
 
matatan

matatan

Well-Known Member
Elite Nugz said:
Id say Adjustawing all the way.

Believe it or not... the glass on those air cooled reflectors filter out a lot of light. Then if you even have a very thin layer of dust on that glass, then your loosing even more light. Also the glass is known to filter out most, if not all of the UV-B rays. UV-B rays are known for making plants pack on more trichomes as a natural plant sunscreen.

I have a bunch of Raptors and I remove the glass from them. No ducting, means no ventilation fans. You just need a decent Split Unit AC, set to energy saver mode and your good to go. With air cooled... you have to run the vent fans to keep them cool and most of the time you still need to run an AC to keep things at perfect temperatures. I think its MUCH easier to control your rooms environment with open reflectors, over air cooled. Air cooled... if its hot outside, then your reflectors are going to run hotter, changing the temp of your room. If its cold outside, then the temps gonna most likely go down in your room. With open reflectors and a split unit AC, the reflectors are always going to produce the same amount of heat. So you set your AC accordingly and every day your temps will be the exact same and on point.

So I would go with the Ajustawings.
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very nicely said.
is the installation very difficult? i love hands on experiments but theres some things i just avoid and leave to the professionals, like electricity.
what brand do you recommend?
 
ROBSTERB

ROBSTERB

Well-Known Member
Elite Nugz said:
Id say Adjustawing all the way.

Believe it or not... the glass on those air cooled reflectors filter out a lot of light. Then if you even have a very thin layer of dust on that glass, then your loosing even more light. Also the glass is known to filter out most, if not all of the UV-B rays. UV-B rays are known for making plants pack on more trichomes as a natural plant sunscreen.

I have a bunch of Raptors and I remove the glass from them. No ducting, means no ventilation fans. You just need a decent Split Unit AC, set to energy saver mode and your good to go. With air cooled... you have to run the vent fans to keep them cool and most of the time you still need to run an AC to keep things at perfect temperatures. I think its MUCH easier to control your rooms environment with open reflectors, over air cooled. Air cooled... if its hot outside, then your reflectors are going to run hotter, changing the temp of your room. If its cold outside, then the temps gonna most likely go down in your room. With open reflectors and a split unit AC, the reflectors are always going to produce the same amount of heat. So you set your AC accordingly and every day your temps will be the exact same and on point.

So I would go with the Ajustawings.
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some good info there, however for the price of most air con you could run at least another 600 light or more.
 
Elite Nugz

Elite Nugz

Active Member
matatan said:
very nicely said.
is the installation very difficult? i love hands on experiments but theres some things i just avoid and leave to the professionals, like electricity.
what brand do you recommend?
Click to expand...
Installation of Adjustawings is super simple. Adjustawings weigh close to nothing, compared to aircooled reflectors, and you dont have to mess around with running ducting through your lights. When you running ducting through your lights, you usually have to walk around with duct tape, sealing any small cracks that can potentially suck out Co2. If your not using Co2, then you dont have to worry about that part, but Adjustawing would be the easiest to instal as well.

As far as brand... I would stick with the brand name AdjustAWing. Those are kind of expensive for just a piece of metal. So if you can find a brand that uses the same metal, and has the same dumpy pattern pressed into the metal, then you should be good with just about anyone.
 
Elite Nugz

Elite Nugz

Active Member
ROBSTERB said:
some good info there, however for the price of most air con you could run at least another 600 light or more.
Click to expand...
It depends on how energy efficient your AC is. If you drop some extra cash on a good energy efficient AC, then the AC will have to run less frequently and wont suck up as much electricity. New AC's are getting better and better. If you have an old energy guzzler, then you can easily run your bill through the roof.

The rule of thumb is 5 tons of cooling power for every ten 1,000 watt open reflector lights. Each ton is 12K btu. If you have less lights, then divide. There are other factors that play a roll in determining how big of an AC youll need, but you cant go wrong, no matter the setup with 5 tons per 10 lights.
 
matatan

matatan

Well-Known Member
Elite Nugz said:
Installation of Adjustawings is super simple. Adjustawings weigh close to nothing, compared to aircooled reflectors, and you dont have to mess around with running ducting through your lights. When you running ducting through your lights, you usually have to walk around with duct tape, sealing any small cracks that can potentially suck out Co2. If your not using Co2, then you dont have to worry about that part, but Adjustawing would be the easiest to instal as well.
Elite Nugz said:
It depends on how energy efficient your AC is. If you drop some extra cash on a good energy efficient AC, then the AC will have to run less frequently and wont suck up as much electricity. New AC's are getting better and better. If you have an old energy guzzler, then you can easily run your bill through the roof.

The rule of thumb is 5 tons of cooling power for every ten 1,000 watt open reflector lights. Each ton is 12K btu. If you have less lights, then divide. There are other factors that play a roll in determining how big of an AC youll need, but you cant go wrong, no matter the setup with 5 tons per 10 lights.
Click to expand...

As far as brand... I would stick with the brand name AdjustAWing. Those are kind of expensive for just a piece of metal. So if you can find a brand that uses the same metal, and has the same dumpy pattern pressed into the metal, then you should be good with just about anyone.
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sorry should of specified, i meant installation of the ac unit, and what brand of ac.
i ran a search for heating and cooling units
http://www.heatandcool.com/Ductless-Mini-Split-Air-Conditioner-Heat-Pump-p/kswm024-h213.htm
this brand anygood?

i will start with 3 6oos and plan adding another line of 3 600s after a harvest or 2. so using your math of 5 tons for 10,000 watts, im looking at 600x6 = 3600total watts, so ill be good with a 2ton ac unit, +20k btu less than 30k btu would be sufficient.
or 2 12k btu units and get the 2ns ac when i get the extra lights...?
sorry for the shitload of questions...:leaf:
 
Elite Nugz

Elite Nugz

Active Member
matatan said:
sorry should of specified, i meant installation of the ac unit, and what brand of ac.
i ran a search for heating and cooling units
http://www.heatandcool.com/Ductless-Mini-Split-Air-Conditioner-Heat-Pump-p/kswm024-h213.htm
this brand anygood?

i will start with 3 6oos and plan adding another line of 3 600s after a harvest or 2. so using your math of 5 tons for 10,000 watts, im looking at 600x6 = 3600total watts, so ill be good with a 2ton ac unit, +20k btu less than 30k btu would be sufficient.
or 2 12k btu units and get the 2ns ac when i get the extra lights...?
sorry for the shitload of questions...:leaf:
Click to expand...
If your only running a few lights, then you can just get a nice little window AC. I have a 14K btu window AC keeping my 3 1,000 watt light cool, just fine. I have full control over the rooms temps.

As far as brands go.. I would stick with the brand names like "LG" or Kenmore. Something along those lines. Pay for the extended warranty, just to be safe.
 
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