unit is able to circulate and draw air.
Leaving enough space in the right areas
will help prevent snow and/or ice from
building up on the unit. It is best to
elevate the unit, so it will stay above
the anticipated snowfall level. Placing
the unit under an overhang or building
some sort of roof-like covering is a great
way to shelter the unit from snow and
ice. In extremely cold climates, it may
be necessary to install a drain pan
heater that rests on the drain pan
and plugs directly into the control
board on the condenser unit. This
prevents water from freezing in the
drain pan and protects the condenser
unit from damage. If the condenser
unit is located in a high wind area,
a grower can install wind baffles to
prevent the cold air from moving too
quickly over the coils, which could
cause the system to fail.
TWO FLOWERING ROOMS
“INCREASING THE
NUMBER OF LIGHT
FIXTURES IS A GREAT
WAY FOR A GROWER
TO CAPITALIZE ON
THE WINTER AIR
COMING THROUGH A
VENTILATION SYSTEM.”
One way a grower can increase
efficiency during the winter is to
set up two flowering rooms that
exchange heat with each other.
The basic concept is to have two
flowering rooms that operate on
opposite 12-hour light cycles. When
the lights are on in Room A, the
heat created is ducted into Room B,
where the lights are off. When the
light cycle switches, the ventilation
system switches also so the room
with its lights on is always providing
heat to the room with its lights off.
Although electric heaters may still be
needed as a backup source of heat,
the heat produced by the lights will
be sufficient to heat the other indoor
garden in most cases.
The most effective way an indoor horti-
culturist can set up two flowering rooms
in the winter is to have both gardens
equipped with closed air-cooled reflec-
tor ventilation systems. Each closed
air-cooled ventilation system is then
ducted directly into the adjoining flow-
ering room. As mentioned, the flower-
ing room with its lights on will provide
the heat for the garden room with its
lights off. When the light cycle switches,
the direction of heat transfer switches
simultaneously. It is possible that too
much heat will be pumped into the
lights-off flowering room. As a fail-
safe, an air conditioning system can be
used or an exhaust fan (separate from
the one used in the closed ventilation
system) can be connected to a thermo-
stat to evacuate the air if the tempera-
ture exceeds the desired range.
Flip-boxes are invaluable tools for
growers operating two flowering
rooms. A flip-box allows two lamps to
be powered by one ballast (not simul-
taneously). The ballasts connected to
a flip-box operate continuously. The
ballasts’s power is then diverted by
a relay contained within the flip-box.
This relay is triggered by a 12-hour
cycle timer. Every 12 hours, the flip-box
ton
1/2
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85