Fortunately , today ’ s agricultural lighting technologies allow for cannabis cultivators to create indoor growrooms with up to 1,500 μmol per second , per square metre at a distance of one foot over the canopy ( full noon sun is around 2,000 μmol per square metre ). Today ’ s lighting technology delivers the appropriate daily light integral ( DLI ), or amount of daily light required , for cannabis to survive and thrive in an indoor garden . Lighting technology continues to evolve exponentially and therefore , serious indoor cultivators should upgrade their lighting systems periodically to take advantage of improvements in efficiency and current technology ’ s best attempt to duplicate the sun ’ s spectrum . In an open-air exchange room , can-style exhaust fans and other cooling and ventilation equipment can be triggered by thermostat controllers capable of determining day or night and programming unique settings for each . For example , less air exchange will be required at night due to decreased transpiration , and thus , decreased need for fresh CO 2 . Nighttime temps will also be lower , so fans won ’ t be needed to remove heat as often . So , a “ night ” program on a thermostat controller might be set to turn on exhaust fans at 10 degrees cooler than a daytime setting . Another consideration while ventilating a non-sealed indoor room is to filter the incoming air to prevent dust and pests . If odour is a concern , the internal and outgoing air can be scrubbed with a cylinder-shaped carbon filter . The filter would ideally be placed up high where hot air is moving by default , and the exhaust fan would be used in line with ducting , pulling air through the carbon filter and across the light reflectors , removing the heat and odours . If an internal air scrubber is needed for additional odour control , use an additional carbon filter running with a can-style fan placed on top , which creates a loop in the room that absorbs the Volatile Organic Compounds ( VOCs ), a . k . a . “ dank bud smells ” or odour-causing molecules , and prevents these smells from seeping out into unwanted areas .
“ Controlling the temperature and humidity of the air inside the garden can be done utilizing these methods and produces a top-notch quality product .”
Finally , consider the temperature of the incoming air . In extremely cold or hot months , it may be necessary to buffer the air somewhere first , in a closet , bathroom , or laundry room , for example . Otherwise , the cannabis plants would not like the outdoor air being pulled directly across the garden during the more extreme months . Pay attention to the maximum and minimum temperature and humidity reached between visits to the garden and make adjustments accordingly . A non-sealed indoor room moves outside air through the garden . This provides the buds and plants with the fresh CO 2 they need to breathe . Controlling the temperature and humidity of the air inside the garden can be done utilizing these methods and produces a top-notch quality product .
Environmental Control in a Sealed Indoor Room
A sealed room requires more equipment but offers a way to completely control the environment and the absolute best potential for the highest quality and yield of your cannabis harvest . There are no inputs from the outside world . Everything that is affecting the environment happens from within .
Lights produce heat which has to be controlled and cooled , except for in winter when the heat produced by lights can be used to bring up the ambient room temperature if necessary . In most areas , air conditioning will be needed because of the extreme amount of heat produced by the grow lights and other equipment . The air conditioning is the room ’ s only method of obtaining fresh air and therefore it is important to monitor CO 2 levels . The air is not being exchanged in the room , so the plants are not receiving much fresh CO 2 . Because the room is sealed and fresh CO 2 is not being brought in , it must be supplemented using a CO 2 injection system or a CO 2 generator . Either system would require the use of a regulator and a room controller to measure the amount of CO 2 in the environment and turn the unit off when desired levels are reached . This is extremely important for safety reasons due to the inherent risk of using CO 2 in a controlled environment . Because CO 2 is heavier than air , it can accumulate into unsafe levels , especially in low areas such as basements and , since we cannot smell it , this effect can be dangerous and therefore , levels must be monitored closely . Because the room is sealed and there is no ventilation , the humidity will increase rapidly , especially when plants are transpiring and growing quickly . Therefore , a dehumidifier will need to be used to remove excess moisture . In a sealed room , there is no ventilation to remove it otherwise . For added insurance , gardeners can add an extra layer of control and provide ventilation via a hygrometer controller that would trigger the emergency ventilation fan if humidity levels rise too often or too far above 60 percent , which is where mould and mildew can begin to occur . In rare instances , such as in extra dry climates or when starting in an empty indoor growroom that is not already full of heavily transpiring plants , a humidifier may be necessary to bring the humidity up to at least 30 percent . Thermometer controllers can also be utilized as an insurance policy by adding a layer of control to remove heat in an extreme situation in which the room ’ s controls can ’ t keep the temperature in the correct range . In cold areas or in the colder months of winter , the heat removed from this added layer of environmental control can be used to heat other areas by utilizing vented lighting reflectors connected to can-style exhaust fans . Keep in mind during daytime cycles , this control would be triggered as a last resort because it would also remove wanted CO 2 . One way to keep the room sealed and still remove heat produced by the lights is choosing lighting fixtures with ducting attachments and sealed with glass . They can use inline ducting with a can-style fan , pulling air through the light reflectors . The air can be brought in from outside of the room and passed directly over the lights and removed directly from the room , without mixing with or obtaining any of the air within the room . The room would remain sealed , and the “ in ” and “ out ” holes would be cut just large enough to let the ducting pass through . Yet another way to remove heat from the growroom is to remove the items causing heat . It is obviously not feasible to remove the lights , but what about the ballasts ? After all , they are designed to be a heat sink , so why not install them outside the growroom ? This can be done by installing a small hole to run ballast cords through . Other equipment that produces heat such as stand-alone air conditioners are designed with ducting to help direct and remove the heat caused by the unit . Although completely sealed rooms provide more parameters to control , understanding these methods and tools empowers growers to create a highly sophisticated , controlled environment capable of maximizing yields and producing absolute top-quality cannabis products .
24 Maximum Yield