Designing a grow room.

sam1999

New Member
I am looking for advice about equipment to use in a grow operation I am planning out for construction next summer. I hope to be putting up a building with 4 grow rooms all set up for climate control. Currently I am looking at LED lights, CO2 Generator, some basic ventilation fans. Rooms will be 10'x15' with 30 plants per room. Will probably only use 1 or 2 rooms until I get my feet under me.
I know there is probably stuff I am missing. And I am hoping you all can help me out with some advice before I finalize the plans and start construction. Thanks!
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Welcome to RIU Sam.

The first decision should be which type do you want to run/need to run.

You can run active air exchange in which extractors remove the heat and humidity and that replenishes co2 .

Or

Sealed rooms where you add co2 by way of tank ect and you control the humidity via machines and the air temperature by air conditioning.

The deciding factor should be the environment you live in, the climate..
If you live in a hot place you may find active air exchange isn't enough to ever reach your desired temperature.
So sealed room is a better option.
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
Auto feed irrigation system of some sort would be beneficial with so many plants. I’d also go full bore & use all the rooms.
Get yourself an IPM program set up for preventative measures.
I grow in a bunch of tents, so I’m not very knowledgeable on what’s needed to grow in open rooms. So that’s all I can muster at the moment.
 

HydroDawg421

Well-Known Member
Start planning your electrical requirements NOW!

Each of the 4 walls (3 outlets per wall) in my sealed room has its own 20A breaker (4 total) which is an upgrade over the standard 15A breaker for 110v outlets. This requires a large gauge wire to handle the additional load.

I also have my (6) 220v outlets in the ceiling on their own 30A breaker. This also requires upgraded outlets. Remember a 220 device like an LED light uses half the Amps of 110 which in turn allows more devices to be plugged in and uses 1/2 the electricity. Many LED lights and other devices can auto-detect 110 or 220. Where they don't auto-detect you can specify 110 or 220 when you purchase/order.

I have a CO2 generator and a buried LP tank in my yard. I had it 'hard piped' to the room with cast iron pipe. I don't exchange air. I ordered a 2-ton Gree mini split online and had it installed. My HVAC guy told me he would install any mini split that I supplied but ONLY if it was a Gree.

The fastest way to get busted or to kill yourself is to overload your breaker box. You don't want to set up your room and go to plug stuff in only to discover you don't have enough available Amps to power your room. It's cheaper to do it when you build than to go back later. I also had purple sheetrock installed when we built it. It's mold/mildew resistant and is used in laundry rooms and bathrooms, etc. . . I used Kilz to prime the sheetrock before it was painted white using Kilz paint!

I grow hydroponically. The ONLY thing I missed in planning was the need for drains in the floor. It's not a big deal since I have a sink in the room. I just pump via a hose to the sink to drain. If I could go back, I would put several drains in the floor of my room.

I also spray-foam insulated all 4 walls and the ceiling. We did the same in the house (except ceilings) and the house is TIGHT! It holds heat/cool like no other house I've ever lived in. It's worth the extra $$$ !!!

I don't think I could trip a breaker for my room if I tried. And you won't believe the amount of sh*t that you will eventually plug in! Depending on the season (outside temps) and whether flower or veg, my room runs me about $250-$350 a month to power.

And you should have seen me trying to tap dance around the questions from my builder, electrical contractor and HVAC guy. I settled on telling them that I was crypto mining bit coin. No more questions!


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