Choose the Right Intake System for Your Setup
The air in your grow room should be replaced every 5 minutes when the lights are on and more often when struggling to manage heat and humidity. This can be accomplished with a passive or active intake system. Which is best?
- Passive intake
Best for small to moderately sized facilities.
HVAC mechanical contractors recommend passive intake for most grow tent setups. Rather than using an air intake system, passive systems utilize an inline exhaust fan, creating a vacuum that draws stale air out of the tent, pulling in fresh air from intake ports at the tent base. To function properly, your grow room must be a negative pressure environment, holding a lower pressure than its external environment. Because passive systems aren’t completely sealed, they are more at risk of pest issues and odor problems.
- Active intake
Best for larger tents, managing high temperatures, or fine-tuning your growing environment.
Active intake designs integrate an additional inline fan at the base of the tent, actively pulling in fresh air through intake ports. They are typically only necessary for larger tents, high-temperature environments, or when intake ports at the tent’s base are smaller than exhaust ports.
Grow Room Ventilation Configurations
Your commercial HVAC company may recommend several ventilation setups: placing filter inside and fan outside, the fan inside and the filter outside, or the fan and filter outside. However, locating the fan and filter inside is the preferred method to ensure optimal performance with short, straight ducting that facilitates optimal airflow. Ultimately, system design is dependent on the positioning of your grow lighting system and reflectors.
The Importance of a Properly Sized Grow Room Ventilation System
As with commercial heating and cooling systems, proper sizing of your ventilation system is essential. The size of your grow room, the length and path of ducting, and the use of a carbon filter all impact fan performance and the CFM (cubic feet of airflow per minute) needed. For grow room setups using carbon dioxide or an air conditioner to boost plant growth, a sealed room and closed-loop system design featuring a fan and carbon filter are recommended.
Installing Grow Room Ventilation
Inline fans are typically attached to your tent’s extra ceiling bars using an adjustable rope. It may be fitted directly into an exhaust hole or to ductwork running through the exhaust port. Carbon scrubbers are hung in the same manner, attached to the inline fan. Outside air is pulled from the bottom, into the filter, through lights, through the inline fan, and exhausted outdoors.
Ensure a successful, productive grow room with help from H & H Commercial Services. Contact us to schedule a complimentary consultation from a qualified HVAC contractor today.
This blog was originally posted at https://hhcommercialonline.com/grow-room-intake-and-exhaust-setup-tips/
