Do you struggle to find what size light goes with what size tent? Is my light too strong? Is it too weak? Sure, these are a few problems growers face. Is there any guide that can teach me the easiest way to make sure I have the proper light for the size of tent I want? Which is the best setup for an indoor grow room? Thankfully yes there is!
In this article, we put all that information in one place to make it as easy as possible for you to find the exact information you need. This way you can get to growing faster and begin to #LoveWhatYouGrow.
Before we look at the chart, there is a simple equation that will show us the proper grow light strength required for a given tent. We can break them down into categories:
- Low efficacy, generic budget lights: 50-60w/sq ft
- Medium efficacy, “housing”-type lights: 30-40w/sq ft
- High efficacy, panel with quality diodes (eg. Samsung): 25-30w/sq ft
Since VIVOSUN lights use Samsung diodes we will focus on that scale for this article. This formula will work with any brand of light but we will use our lights for quick reference. Let’s start with this as an example:
Let’s take a 2ft x 2ft tent. You would find the square foot by multiplying the length and width: 2 x 2 = 4 sqft.
Then we do 4 x 50 =200w for low efficacy, 4×30= 120w for medium efficacy, and 4×25= 100w for high efficacy.
This is the actual wattage from your outlet, so for a 2×2 tent then a VS1000 would do great.
Best Setup for Your Indoor Grow Room
With this simple formula, it’s easy to make sure you have the perfect best setup. Let’s take a look at pairing lights and tents:
This is just a basic guide. You can add more light or use a dimmer switch to get the right wattage or to have higher wattage for better canopy penetration.
Finding the right size exhaust fan can be a little more tricky. But we will break down the numbers so you can use it as a basic guide to save you the trouble.
For this example, we will say that we want to scrub the air every minute in the tent. (Best setup for your indoor grow room)
First, we must find the Cubic Foot of the grow room. To do this we multiply Length x Width x Height. So on a 2x2x4 tent we would do
Fan CFM = 2x2x4 =16 ft³
Next, we must factor in the equipment, ( carbon filter, ducting, lights)
For carbon filters, the rule of thumb is that it reduces the efficiency of the extractor fan by 25%
Fan CFM = (16 CFM + (16×25%))= 20 CFM
For ducting the rule of thumb is to factor 1% reduction for every foot of duct. And for every bend, we factor 20% reduction. So a 5-foot duct with 1 bend would be a 25% reduction in efficiency
Fan CFM = (20 CFM + (20×25%))= 25 CFM
For HID lights we add a 10% reduction for 1000w since they tend to run hotter. For LED since they run cooler we only have to add a 7% reduction per 1000w.
Fan CFM =(25 CFM + (25×10%)) = 27.5 CFM
Ideally, you would want a fan slightly higher than the final CFM this way if you choose to add equipment like a silencer or more ducting you can do so easily without having to replace the current exhaust fan.
I know this is a lot of technical information, but in all honesty, it’s not very difficult once you learn how to do it. This should allow you to pick your tent size and see the lights and exhaust for that particular tent. Hopefully, this will keep you from having to spend hours searching for the right information before you make the purchase.
The information above uses just our LED as an example but there is still the option of using HPS, CMH, or Fluorescent in your space. The wattage is still the same so you can still use this guide to help determine the right setup.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
And be sure to check out our other blog posts for useful tips on becoming a great grower!
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