When the temperature rises outside, so does your grow room temperatures with potentially damaging consequences. Flowers become loose, fruits can abort and yields can be significantly reduced. Maintenance of your grow room operation becomes more intense as the plants consume more water through transpiration to cool the leaf temperatures down. Nutrients become toxic because this increased transpiration drives nutrient uptake. The first symptom of toxicity usually leads to yellowing of the middle-aged to larger leaves just below the flowering tops. All this leads to growers looking miserable on hot, sunny days rather than enjoying it.
If you also want to inject with carbon dioxide, then the only efficient, controllable way to achieve this is to use air conditioning. In order to put a smile back on your face on those hot sunny days or indeed those cold cloudy days where you want to inject with carbon dioxide but you still cannot have the exhaust fans off for any length of time then Aquaculture is pleased to offer advice on using air conditioners.
To help you decide which cooling product best suits your needs, simply answer the following questions:
Permanent air conditioners that require professional installation are usually not suitable for grow rooms, but portable units are. There are 2 types of portable air conditioners, mono-blocks and portable split units.
Mono-blocks are an all in one unit that have an exhaust hose, air is pulled into the unit while cool air is blown out the top and hot waste air is blown out the exhaust hose. These can be used inside grow rooms, but if your crop has a strong odour this will also be blown out the exhaust hose. Mono-block air conditioners are best used outside grow rooms, this cooler air can then be pumped into the grow room via an inline fan.
Portable split air conditioners have an outside unit and an inside unit. The outside unit processes the air and pumps refrigerant to the inside unit which blows out cool air. The inside unit can be placed inside the grow room without the risk of odours being pumped out of the air conditioner.
How do I calculate my air conditioning requirements?
Simple! - Grab a calculator and follow the simple instructions
- Multiply the length by the width by the height of the room to be air-conditioned which will give you the cubic capacity;
- If you are measuring in feet then multiply the cubic capacity by 5 which will determine your Btu requirements. If you are measuring in metres, then simply multiply the cubic metres by 175.
Example: Room dimensions are 25ft x 12ft x 8ft = 2,400 cubic feet. (Multiply by 5 giving 12,000 Btu's)
Example: Room dimensions are 7.6m x 3.7m x 2.5m = 70.3 cubic metres. (Multiply by 175 = 11,810 Btu's)
The above calculations assume a grow room with no lighting or other heat sources.
For every lighting system, add the following Btu amount onto the above calculation.
- 250W Sodium/Metal Halide Lighting System, add 640 Btu's
- 400W Sodium/Metal Halide Lighting System, add 1020 Btu's
- 600W Sodium/Metal Halide Lighting System, add 1530 Btu's
- 1000W Sodium/Metal Halide Lighting System, add 2560 Btu's
Example: Room dimensions are 3 metres by 3 metres by 2.5 meters = 22.5 cubic metres.
In that volume I have 4 separate 600W sodium lighting systems.
Easy then, this is what we do:
- From the above example, 22.5 cubic metres multiplied by 175 = 3940 Btu's
- Multiply 4 (no. of lights) by 1530 (cooling for 600W light) = 6120
- Add 3940 to 6120 = 10060 Btu's of cooling.
If you have a south(ish) facing grow room or an attic then multiply the total Btu requirement by 1.5. If you are in any doubt about your calculations our sales staff will be happy to talk you through.
Do Portable Air Conditioners require installation?
The mono-block air conditioners do not need any special installation other than placing the exhaust in a suitable location to vent away the hot waste air – then just switch on!
For the portable split air conditioners, there is no exhaust hose. The ‘umbilical cord’ links the inside and outside units, and contains R407C cooling refrigerant. The umbilical cord comes attached and ready to use, if you need to detach the cord for installation you will need to re-gas the unit with refrigerant. Please note: different AC units are filled with different types of gas which can be damaging to the environment and to human health, any type of AC re-gassing should be done by a trained professional.
Are there any special requirements for the use of Portable Air Conditioning?
Yes. Access to an open window, vent, external door or suspended ceiling is essential in order to position the outside unit for split AC units types, or duct the hot air exhaust from mono-block AC units.
The air conditioner needs to be positioned within reach of a 13-amp 230V socket and located in a manner to avoid any obstruction to the airflow.
Always ensure that the electrical supply to the unit is adequate and not limited by the other electrical consuming products in your grow room.
Where do I position my Air Conditioning Unit?
You obviously do not want to position the air conditioner unit next to the extractor fan. We have included a little diagram below to help you decide on a suitable position. The air conditioner should be located at one end of the room, usually at the opposite end from the exhaust fan. If you are using an intake fan as well, the unit should be located close to this to achieve a greater cooling capacity.
We hope this article has been of help. If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We hope this article has been of help. If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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