Grow Room Ventilation Equipment
Optimal grow room ventilation and air extraction is critical to prevent your plants from becoming too hot and dry or wet and humid. To achieve the optimum climate in your indoor garden, you need to invest in quality grow room ventilation equipment. This will help to avoid issues that poor ventilation can cause such as fungal and bacterial disease, reduced nutrient uptake, stress, weakened defence, and pests.
Essential Ventilation Equipment for a Grow Room
The type of ventilation system you require will depend on the size and complexity of your grow room, and the type of plants you want to cultivate. Below is a list of the essential ventilation equipment required for successful indoor growing.
Extractor Fan
Extractor fans remove stale air from the grow space. They are available in a range of options including silenced and unsilenced, AC (alternating current), and EC (electronically commutated). EC Fans have better energy efficiency and their speed can be adjusted to a precise rate. AC fans on the other hand, operate at a constant speed and are less energy efficient.
Intake Fan
If you are a serious or professional grower, you will need an intake fan so you can fine tune the ventilation and negative air pressure in the grow space. For most growers however, a passive intake system is fine. When air is extracted from the grow space it forms a vacuum which passively draws in fresh air from the intake ports.
Fan Controller
Fan controllers allow you to adjust the speed at which your fans operate so you can create the perfect growing environment by balancing extraction and intake within the grow space. You don’t need fans whirring at full speed all the time, so the ability to adjust speed not only helps with climate control but will also improve energy efficiency.
Basic controllers like the RAM Variispeed fan controller are simple to use by manually adjusting the speed setting on the plug. More advanced controllers have built-in temperature and air pressure probes and allow for custom settings to automatically increase fan speed when the temperature rises, and decrease speeds at cooler times such as during the night. These more advanced controllers enable complete control over negative air pressure.
Carbon Filter
Carbon filters attach to the extraction fan and are designed to remove odours in the grow space before the air is released outside. These odour neutralising filters are vital if you are growing smelly plants. They ensure that the extracted air is clean and free from any unwanted smells. Filters are available in a range of sizes to fit most extraction fans.
Ducting
Ducting is an essential component of the ventilation system. Ducting is attached to the extraction fan to transport the extracted air away from the grow space to be released outside. Ducting can also be attached to the intake ports to allow fresh air to be drawn into the grow tent or room.
Air Circulation Fans
Circulation of air is critical for a healthy crop. Air circulation fans blow air around the grow space to keep it moving. Air movement helps to prevent stagnant air pockets within the grow space, assists with the maintenance of temperature and humidity levels, and helps to prevent hot spots. Fans also help to distribute CO2, and the air movement encourages stronger, more robust stems that will be able to withstand the weight of large yields.
CO2
CO2 is essential for photosynthesis. It is a vital ingredient used along with water and light to create oxygen, and glucose – the energy that plants need to grow. CO2 is naturally drawn in through the ventilation intake along with fresh air. However, the average concentration of CO2 that naturally occurs in the air is only around 400-450ppm (parts per million), below target levels for optimum vegetation and flowering.
If your CO2 levels drop below 200ppm plant growth will stagnate, and as a rule of thumb you should not allow it to drop below natural atmospheric levels. As a result, if your CO2 drops below around 400ppm you should top it up in order to maintain naturally occurring levels.
To encourage accelerated growth throughout the vegetation and blooming stages, additional CO2 will give plants the boost they need. The amount of CO2 required will vary depending on the type of plants you are growing, however as a general guide, the ideal CO2 levels for the vegetative stage is between 800-1200ppm, and for flowering aim for between 1200-1500ppm.
CO2 is available to buy in bags and cans, and we also sell CO2 sensors to monitor levels. Always follow manufacturer’s instructions as too much carbon dioxide can be detrimental to human health.
Humidity Control Equipment
Maintaining a balanced humidity in your grow room is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. At London Grow, we sell a range of humidity control equipment so that you can create the ideal environment depending on the growth stage of your plants.
If your grow space is too dry, plants can suffer from stress, reduced photosynthesis, weakened defence and become vulnerable to pests and disease. If the grow room is too humid, the air becomes wet, encouraging mould, fungal and bacterial growth. Excess humidity can also cause issues with transpiration and encourage pests.
Hygrometers allow you to monitor the relative humidity (RH) levels so you know when to adjust the level. Humidifiers help by increasing the humidity in the grow tent, while dehumidifiers reduce humidity. You can read more about the importance of maintaining humidity in our blog on understanding optimum temperature and humidity for plants and get tips on how to raise humidity in a grow tent.
Odour Neutralisers
Carbon filters neutralise odours before air is expelled but you can also buy odour neutralisers to combat strong smells within the grow space. Products include sprays, gels, misters, evaporators, and odour neutralising fans that work with special gels or blocks to remove unwanted smells from the air.
Grow Room Temperature Control
Maintaining the temperature of the grow room environment to optimal levels is essential to maximise health and harvest. The ideal temperature will of course depend on the plants you are growing. Most common plants require a temperature of around 24-29°C for seedings and cloning, between 21-29°C for the vegetative stage and between 18-27°C for flowering.
We sell a wide range of grow room temperature control equipment including traditional and digital thermometers so you can easily monitor the temperature of your grow space. Our portable heaters can give your plants a boost of heat as needed, and if it is too hot, ventilation and oscillating fans can be adjusted to reduce the ambient temperature.
Don’t forget that grow lights can emit a lot of heat, so if you are struggling to keep the temperature under control you may need to consider switching to grow lamps that emit less heat, such as LED grow lights. For very hot grow rooms, you may need to invest in multiple fans or an air conditioning unit to help reduce the ambient temperature.
Buy Grow Room Climate Control & Ventilation Equipment Online
At London Grow, we only sell quality grow room environment equipment to ensure customer satisfaction and successful yields. If you need any further advice on the best ventilation and climate control equipment, get in touch for expert advice or visit our grow shop.