How To Build The Perfect Grow Room

The following article has been provided by HydroponicSupplyCo.com RULE 1: Make sure your Volts match. If you have standard 120v wall sockets (99% of US homes), you use a ballast with a 120v power cord. If you have 240v sockets, use 240v. HERE'S THE BEST ADVICE ANYONE CAN GIVE YOU - ALWAYS CONSULT AN ELECTRICIAN! If you are new to growing indoors, find a certified electrician in your area. Most of them will do free estimates. Simply explain what you are looking to accomplish. You may find you have more power available to you than you thought. RULE 2: Make sure your Watts match. If you use a 1000w ballast, use a 1000w light bulb. If you use a 600w ballast, use a 600w light bulb. RULE 3: There are two types of light bulbs, Metal Halides (MH) and High Pressure Sodiums (HPS). HPS bulbs must be used with HPS lights and MH bulbs must be used with MH lights. LIGHTING Metal Halides: Metal halides will immerse plants in light from the bluer end of the spectrum, which indicates to the plant that it's spring and time for growth. Generally speaking, Metal Halide light is used for plants which are encouraged to grow many leaves and become bushy such as lettuce, spinach, cabbage and herbs. They are also excellent for the vegetative stages of growth. They promote tight spacing between branches, and help the plants to develop thick stems and large leaves which will support later fruit and flower growth. Recommendation: Our experience has been that Metal Halides tend to fry your plants. High Pressure Sodium (HPS) - Our favorite! High Pressure Sodiums (HPS) reproduce light from the red/orange end of the spectrum, mimicking the colors of the harvest sunset. Plants use this kind of light in reproductive processes, and thus HPS bulbs help your plants to produce more fruits and flowers. At 97-150 lumens per watts, HPS lights produce more lumens than a MH. Replace them every year. WORKING WITH LIGHTS A good timer should be used in order to create regular lighting intervals of Lights On/Lights Off. The periods can be scheduled conveniently, as long as plants receive their light and dark at the same time every day. The general range is 6-12 hours of darkness every day. It is important not to disturb the dark periods with light so be careful about visits during that time which may add unwanted light to the room. PLANT SPACING A good rule of thumb is 9-12 plants per light. Inexperienced growers will often make the mistake of cramming too many plants under insufficient light. ENERGY & ELECTRICITY 120v vs 240v Both 120 volt and 240 volt lights operate with the same 100% output and use the same amount of electricity. A 600 watt light uses the same amount of current in 120 volt as in a 240 volt light. The standard outlet you see in your house is 120 volt. The maximum wattage on a 120 volt circuit is 1500 watts. 240 volt circuits can carry up to 5760 watts. This means that you can plug several high powered lights into a single lighting timer that will turn them all on and off on the same circuit. 240 volt is also considered to be more "stable" because it uses half the amounts of amps. The equation goes like this: Amps x Volts = Watts. 240 volt requires a double pole breaker and requires a different kind of outlet than standard plugs. Many appliance outlets, such as those for washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners are already wired for 240. ENERGY CALCULATOR First, figure out what square footage you'll be working with. But don't just figure for the whole room. Figure out what the plant area is that you need to cover. Multiply length x width to get square footage. You'll need at least 30 watts per square foot. For example: if you have a 4 x 4 area, which equals 16 square feet, multiplied by 30 watts you get 480 watts. (Plants need between 30 and 60 watts) That means you need at least a 430 watt light. Keep in mind, the actual amount of light you'll need depends on the amount of light the type of plants you are growing like. Some plants like more light, some like less. ELECTRICITY COSTS You need to first find out how much watts you will use. Next you must calculate your Kilowatt per hour (KWH), which is located on your last electric bill. Note: 1 KW= 1000 Watts Watts of light = Amount of Kilowatts you are running per hour Example:

2000 Watts = two 1000 watt lights

2000 Watts X 1000 watts/1 kw = 2 kw per hour of use

Say you are running your lights for 12 hours a day. You then multiply your kwatts per hour by 12 (hours running in the day)

So in our previous example: 2 kwatts/ hour X 12 hours = 24 kilowatts a day

Multiply by days in a month: 24 Kwatts per day X 30 days = 720 Kw per month

Now you take that and multiply it by the rate charged by the electric company.

GROW ROOM EQUIPMENT

Here's an example of one way to design a grow room and the equipment needed to run it. This is a great beginners room, designed for 36 plants 3' - 4 1/2' tall when harvested.

4 LIGHT CONTROLLER/TIMER 4 x 1000Watt HPS LIGHT KITS 4 x REFLECTORS 10" FAN (intake) 8" FAN (exhaust) 36 x 5 GALLON POTS

While this equipment is enough to run the whole room you may want to consider adding the following:

Infra-red Barrier - Keep prying eyes out. A must have for anyone building a grow room.
Black & White poly - to seal up the room and add a reflective surface for the lights.
Carbon Filter - If smell is a problem a carbon filter will fix that. The preceeding article has been provided by HydroponicSupplyCo.com