Air Conditioning

[Sciferazor]

Hi I would like some advice on cooling my sealed room, I plan on using split a/c in a grow room for cooling and my question is does the outdoor unit produce heat because people are against a/c with an exhaust because it produces lots of heat. Air conditioning Is not very popular in England since less than 5 percent have it so FLIR might be a bit suspicious or does the outdoor unit not produce heat, in which case I can hide it from the eye in the sky. Any Advice Needed

Sciferazor Reviewed by Sciferazor on 05-28-2013. Air Conditioning Hi I would like some advice on cooling my sealed room, I plan on using split a/c in a grow room for cooling and my question is does the outdoor unit produce heat because people are against a/c with an exhaust because it produces lots of heat. Air conditioning Is not very popular in England since less than 5 percent have it so FLIR might be a bit suspicious or does the outdoor unit not produce heat, in which case I can hide it from the eye in the sky. Any Advice Needed Rating: 5

[blunt lover]

Well the heat has to go somewhere and thats what the 'outdoor' end of the air conditioner does. Perhaps you might think about using a good ventilation fan to pump air into the grow room. I think your neighbors might be suspicious of an air conditioner running at full blast on a 60 degree day. To kill the smell you can use an activate carbon filter. You can make your own cheaper than buying the overpriced made up ones. The carbon filter and fan should cost much less than the air conditioner unit - and the fan won't use near the electricity as the AC unit.

I pump air out my grow room (single story home) into my back yard - by the time the air hits anyone around me its pretty well dissipated - and at any rate the old fart that lives close has very limited smell since he's had cancer of the nasal passages. I took the liberty of asking him about his sense of smell since I needed to know.

I get temps of 90-100 regularly in the summer so I revert to using fluorescent lights and a smaller grow to keep the heat down. The T5 HO lights work pretty good.

[Sciferazor]

Well the heat has to go somewhere and thats what the 'outdoor' end of the air conditioner does. Perhaps you might think about using a good ventilation fan to pump air into the grow room. I think your neighbors might be suspicious of an air conditioner running at full blast on a 60 degree day. To kill the smell you can use an activate carbon filter. You can make your own cheaper than buying the overpriced made up ones. The carbon filter and fan should cost much less than the air conditioner unit - and the fan won't use near the electricity as the AC unit.

I pump air out my grow room (single story home) into my back yard - by the time the air hits anyone around me its pretty well dissipated - and at any rate the old fart that lives close has very limited smell since he's had cancer of the nasal passages. I took the liberty of asking him about his sense of smell since I needed to know.

I get temps of 90-100 regularly in the summer so I revert to using fluorescent lights and a smaller grow to keep the heat down. The T5 HO lights work pretty good.

First, your second paragraph I believe is irrelevant as I want a sealed room. The house Is luckily out of view from other residents, I would have a carbon filter anyway scrubbing the air in the grow room so me and house don't stink of weed. My main concern is FLIR. Any ideas, for sealed rooms I get that the big timers use split air conditioning or water cooled air conditioning (they are expensive and the water bill might be suspicious?)
1 litre an hour, that's amazing (some advice)

[blunt lover]

First, your second paragraph I believe is irrelevant as I want a sealed room. The house Is luckily out of view from other residents, I would have a carbon filter anyway scrubbing the air in the grow room so me and house don't stink of weed. My main concern is FLIR. Any ideas, for sealed rooms I get that the big timers use split air conditioning or water cooled air conditioning (they are expensive and the water bill might be suspicious?)
1 litre an hour, that's amazing (some advice)

Not sure if I'm reading your 'sealed room' idea correctly. I presume you will be venting the air conditioner and the 4 in 1 'air conditioner'? That 'water cooler' is more of a personal cooling effect device. Using water to cool air is a great idea - and its what I call a swamp cooler - I have one on my house and it requires outside air moving over water soaked mats - the air is then routed into the house. It can reduce the outside air temp by about 25F. It requires dry air to work properly since in high humidity water doesn't evaporate as readily. Since I live in a high desert climate I can use it for 3-4 months of the year - and I do. Its working as I type this to cool my home - and ventilate the grow room. The 'waste' air pushes through my grow room and outside.

With that water cooler It a closed room the air would get saturated with humidity and any cooling effect will be lost. Get too much humidity in your grow room and you'll be fighting molds and mildews. Real plant killers. Ventilation is your friend when it comes to grow rooms.

You can't NOT have any ventilation - a truly closed room won't work. So...since you NEED outside air to make your air conditioner work - and the 'water cooler' won't likely do what you wish why not use the cool outside air to remove the heat? Its your cheapest option IMO.

Heat has to go somewhere. In as cool a climate as you live you're cheapest option is to use the cool climate you live in to your advantage and pull in the cooling air needed to cool the grow area then run it through a carbon filter and back outside. You will need outside air regardless of the 'sealed' room - heat will build up and depending on the lights you use - fast or slow - but it will build up.

[Sciferazor]

Not sure if I'm reading your 'sealed room' idea correctly. I presume you will be venting the air conditioner and the 4 in 1 'air conditioner'? That 'water cooler' is more of a personal cooling effect device. Using water to cool air is a great idea - and its what I call a swamp cooler - I have one on my house and it requires outside air moving over water soaked mats - the air is then routed into the house. It can reduce the outside air temp by about 25F. It requires dry air to work properly since in high humidity water doesn't evaporate as readily. Since I live in a high desert climate I can use it for 3-4 months of the year - and I do. Its working as I type this to cool my home - and ventilate the grow room. The 'waste' air pushes through my grow room and outside.

With that water cooler It a closed room the air would get saturated with humidity and any cooling effect will be lost. Get too much humidity in your grow room and you'll be fighting molds and mildews. Real plant killers. Ventilation is your friend when it comes to grow rooms.

You can't NOT have any ventilation - a truly closed room won't work. So...since you NEED outside air to make your air conditioner work - and the 'water cooler' won't likely do what you wish why not use the cool outside air to remove the heat? Its your cheapest option IMO.

Heat has to go somewhere. In as cool a climate as you live you're cheapest option is to use the cool climate you live in to your advantage and pull in the cooling air needed to cool the grow area then run it through a carbon filter and back outside. You will need outside air regardless of the 'sealed' room - heat will build up and depending on the lights you use - fast or slow - but it will build up.

I read both of your posts and FLIR is commonly used to help take down grow rooms in the UK. I read an article that commercial grows have been known to use water cooled air con and keep their room completely sealed, could I not use water cooled air con and a dehumidifier? I like the idea of fresh air but I cant think of a method in my sort of climate that wont raise a few eyebrows by the police. Any ideas?

[cannabis-seeds]

People in the UK commonly either go passive or use fans on the intake & exhaust to the loft/attic - they seem to want as much fresh air as possible.

Maybe the commercial spaces can get away with being sealed because they have a tremendous amount of space? as in much more than a standard room in a house or flat could offer?

You should also be looking for cannabis seeds designed for your region that can handle high humidity conditions.

[TANKJR]

A water cooled condensing unit (the outside part of a split A/C system) would work fine, but it will use lots of water. An air cooled condensing unit will use a fan to remove the heat it removes from the grow room. The effects of the heat removal can be minimized by blowing the hot air into thick undergrowth or bushes. There is no way to use a water cooled device and not use a lot of water. Hope this helps.

[blunt lover]

People in the UK commonly either go passive or use fans on the intake & exhaust to the loft/attic - they seem to want as much fresh air as possible.

+1 on venting the grow room to the attic - it should mask the heat signature - even attics in the UK are warmer than the lower levels of the house. This would also shunt any smells up into the wind.

Using florescent lighting will keep the heat down enough that any FLIR equipment would not notice any anomalies. Yield may come up a bit short of what HID lights will give you but will also give off much less heat. I have a pair of 2' 4 bulb florescent light fixtures that I use during the summers here that hardly give off any heat as compared to a 400w HPS fixture. The two florescent fixtures use 200w but give off much less than the single 400w HPS and ballast. The HPS also more easily burns leaves and bud. With the florescent lights they have to be touching the light bulb to burn the leaves.

Large grow operations commonly use 2000-4000w and more lighting which may cause a heat signature on the outside walls of a structure not well insulated. A small grow operation using no more than 400w of florescent lighting might not require more than a small fan in a window moving air across the room and expelled via another window. Heat will be minimal. Make sure any florescent lighting you buy is high output. Use 6500k for vegging and 2700-3000k for flowering.

[Sciferazor]

A water cooled condensing unit (the outside part of a split A/C system) would work fine, but it will use lots of water. An air cooled condensing unit will use a fan to remove the heat it removes from the grow room. The effects of the heat removal can be minimized by blowing the hot air into thick undergrowth or bushes. There is no way to use a water cooled device and not use a lot of water. Hope this helps.

This water cooled condensing unit you talk about Is water cooled air con that can be placed in a grow room and just needs a water supply and electric?