mr.bond
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I am in the middle of re-designing my grow room a bit to be more accommodating to plant life
with the goal being to efficiently achieve "ideal" atmospheric conditions in the entire grow room, primarily consisting of temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration. This could be done in a large tent, or in the open room.
Here is some quick information on the room.
The room is roughly 9' x 13' x 8' high. There is currently 1x 1000w MH or HPS in the room with an 8" vented hood. The light is currently vented in a closed-loop, intaking from central air ducting, and exhausting in another room. The room currently has a window A/C unit that can reduce the temp of the room by about 15F in about 15min. When the room is cooled down to a desirable grow temperature, the room has the uncanny ability to warm back up, quite quickly if it is hot outside (and its commonly hot outside). I suspect that the room is receiving quite a bit of heat transmission from neighboring rooms, an attic space, and the outside. I could keep the room at a lovely temperature all the time but it would require the near 24/7 operation of the A/C unit, and that would be quite expensive and inefficient. I will be growing using DWC & RDWC.
My thoughts on the room's heat problem:
I feel that the room is poorly insulated. Looking at my options, it appears that the use of a radiant barrier may help me out. Now, I am no expert builder, and I have never used radiant barrier, but it supposedly reflects 96% of radiant heat and is even part of mandatory building codes in California now. For those of you who don't know what radiant barrier is, it's the silver shiny foil-like stuff on the inside of a grow tent. Currently if I cool the room with A/C, it warms back up in no time, as little as 15 minutes back to pre-A/C temps.
Rather than run the A/C every 15 minutes, I'd like to prolong the amount of time that the room stays cool. If I could achieve a back-to-pre-A/C-temps time of 1-2 hours or more that would be amazing. I would apply it to all the walls and the ceiling at minimum. If I do a grow tent instead, it would apply in the same manner.
Has anyone used radiant barrier that can speak for its thermal properties?
Will the radiant barrier work for me? This is the product I was looking at... it is an insulated barrier, two layers of radiant barrier sandwiching a bubblewrap-like surface:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...ooglebase-_-D22X-_-202092205&locStoreNum=1002
My thoughts on automating the atmospheric controls:
I would like to automate as much as possible the atmospheric controls to allow ideal conditions without constant supervision. I would also like to achieve automation as efficiently as possible to maximize functionality. This would include automation of fans, A/C, CO2, intake, exhaust, air dampers, lights, etc.
Here is an example of the efficiency I'd like to achieve. Example: If the CO2 is on, then the room's exhaust should be off to allow concentration of the CO2, and the dampers should be closed to prevent CO2 leakage or unwanted air exchange, and the A/C should be off to achieve higher temps for increased CO2 utilization.
In this manner we achieve:
No energy waste (A/C not exhausting from room)
No CO2 waste (CO2 not exhausting from room)
Reduced cold/warm air exchange (dampers close & intake/exhast off during A/C or CO2)
How could I link the timers and such for all these components to achieve the right patterns of on/off?
Sure, if room intake/exhaust is on, then the intake/exhaust dampers should be open. Easy, link the dampers & fans to the same timer. But the CO2 should be off. This is where it starts to get a bit confusing for me. Some questions:
How can I tell the A/C & CO2 to be off when the intake/exhaust is on?
How can I tell the A/C to turn on at a certain temperature? (i.e. turn on @ 78F)
How can I tell the A/C not to turn on at a low threshold? (i.e. turn on @ 78F, off @ 68F, but its only 71F, still cold enough & no need to turn on)
When A/C is activated, how can I turn off intake/exhaust & dampers?
How can I activate the CO2 when the intake/exhaust & dampers are off/closed?
Is a grow tent the better option? Or would using the whole room be better for what I want to achieve?
I've been running in circles over the past few weeks trying to think of the best way to do this. Can anyone help me with some ideas, experience, or insight you might have on this stuff? Rep to all who bring advice to the table. 
Thanks in advance, let me know if you have any questions relating to my setup.
Cheers,
mr. bond
I am in the middle of re-designing my grow room a bit to be more accommodating to plant life
with the goal being to efficiently achieve "ideal" atmospheric conditions in the entire grow room, primarily consisting of temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration. This could be done in a large tent, or in the open room.Here is some quick information on the room.
The room is roughly 9' x 13' x 8' high. There is currently 1x 1000w MH or HPS in the room with an 8" vented hood. The light is currently vented in a closed-loop, intaking from central air ducting, and exhausting in another room. The room currently has a window A/C unit that can reduce the temp of the room by about 15F in about 15min. When the room is cooled down to a desirable grow temperature, the room has the uncanny ability to warm back up, quite quickly if it is hot outside (and its commonly hot outside). I suspect that the room is receiving quite a bit of heat transmission from neighboring rooms, an attic space, and the outside. I could keep the room at a lovely temperature all the time but it would require the near 24/7 operation of the A/C unit, and that would be quite expensive and inefficient. I will be growing using DWC & RDWC.
My thoughts on the room's heat problem:
I feel that the room is poorly insulated. Looking at my options, it appears that the use of a radiant barrier may help me out. Now, I am no expert builder, and I have never used radiant barrier, but it supposedly reflects 96% of radiant heat and is even part of mandatory building codes in California now. For those of you who don't know what radiant barrier is, it's the silver shiny foil-like stuff on the inside of a grow tent. Currently if I cool the room with A/C, it warms back up in no time, as little as 15 minutes back to pre-A/C temps.
Rather than run the A/C every 15 minutes, I'd like to prolong the amount of time that the room stays cool. If I could achieve a back-to-pre-A/C-temps time of 1-2 hours or more that would be amazing. I would apply it to all the walls and the ceiling at minimum. If I do a grow tent instead, it would apply in the same manner. Has anyone used radiant barrier that can speak for its thermal properties? Will the radiant barrier work for me? This is the product I was looking at... it is an insulated barrier, two layers of radiant barrier sandwiching a bubblewrap-like surface:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...ooglebase-_-D22X-_-202092205&locStoreNum=1002
My thoughts on automating the atmospheric controls:
I would like to automate as much as possible the atmospheric controls to allow ideal conditions without constant supervision. I would also like to achieve automation as efficiently as possible to maximize functionality. This would include automation of fans, A/C, CO2, intake, exhaust, air dampers, lights, etc.
Here is an example of the efficiency I'd like to achieve. Example: If the CO2 is on, then the room's exhaust should be off to allow concentration of the CO2, and the dampers should be closed to prevent CO2 leakage or unwanted air exchange, and the A/C should be off to achieve higher temps for increased CO2 utilization.
In this manner we achieve:
No energy waste (A/C not exhausting from room) No CO2 waste (CO2 not exhausting from room) Reduced cold/warm air exchange (dampers close & intake/exhast off during A/C or CO2) How could I link the timers and such for all these components to achieve the right patterns of on/off?Sure, if room intake/exhaust is on, then the intake/exhaust dampers should be open. Easy, link the dampers & fans to the same timer. But the CO2 should be off. This is where it starts to get a bit confusing for me. Some questions:
How can I tell the A/C & CO2 to be off when the intake/exhaust is on? How can I tell the A/C to turn on at a certain temperature? (i.e. turn on @ 78F) How can I tell the A/C not to turn on at a low threshold? (i.e. turn on @ 78F, off @ 68F, but its only 71F, still cold enough & no need to turn on) When A/C is activated, how can I turn off intake/exhaust & dampers? How can I activate the CO2 when the intake/exhaust & dampers are off/closed? Is a grow tent the better option? Or would using the whole room be better for what I want to achieve? I've been running in circles over the past few weeks trying to think of the best way to do this. Can anyone help me with some ideas, experience, or insight you might have on this stuff? Rep to all who bring advice to the table. Thanks in advance, let me know if you have any questions relating to my setup.
Cheers,
mr. bond
