If you’re planning to get started in the growing industry in the near future, you’ll need the perfect grow room. A quality grow room serves as the foundation for your growing enterprise, allowing you to scale upwards as your efforts continue to increase in efficiency and profitability. However, many first-time growers aren’t aware of what’s truly necessary for assembling this space. A grow room installation company can help to ensure that your growing space is up to the task and continues to bring durable value to your business for years to come. If you’re planning to build a commercial grow room, you may want to consider hiring a contractor.
As the cannabis industry continues to expand, growers will need to update and refresh their growing technology if they want to stay competitive. High-quality building materials go a long way in ensuring that your operations remain streamlined and practical. Here are a few of the things you’ll need to consider when designing your first grow room space.
Temperature Controls
Grow room temperatures directly affect the yields of your cannabis plants. Throughout the majority of the growing cycle, you’ll need to situate your plants in a space that’s between 66 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit. While this might sound like an easy temperature to maintain within the room, it can often be tricky. Your grow lights can increase the temperature of the space, while your ventilation systems can instead reduce it.
The closed-in nature of the grow room means that heat is easily trapped within the space, particularly if you’re planning to build with insulated metal wall panels. If you’re building your grow room in the basement, think about how the temperature varies in the day vs. at night and how it shifts in the summer vs. winter. A reliable air conditioning system is a good choice for many growers, as it can also drop the room’s humidity levels.
Humidity Controls
Humidity control systems for your space are essential for preventing your plants from drying out or using too much water. The ideal humidity levels for the grow room space rest between 40 and 60 percent. To start with, you’ll want a high-quality dehumidifier. However, depending on the natural environment of your local region, you may need just the opposite. If you’re growing cannabis in Colorado, for example, you’ll need a system for ensuring the high-altitude and dry air won’t slow down the growth of your plants.
Rolling Benches & Vertical Growing Options
To increase the value of your new grow room space, you’ll likely want to fit in as many plants as possible. To build in space for your plants without sacrificing crop yields, you may want to consider rolling benches or other vertical growing structures. These structures ensure that each plant receives adequate airflow levels, with enough distance between the other plants. Reducing humidity and managing temperature within the grow room will become significantly easier with these installations.
Fans & Ventilation Systems
Wall-mounted oscillating fans are essential for maintaining proper levels of airflow throughout your growing space. These items can help to mimic outdoor conditions, remove excessive heat, and control the overall CO2 levels. Extractor fans can also help keep the humidity within the space at an optimal level. The ideal fan size depends significantly on the dimensions of your grow room.
Grow Lights & Blackout Curtains
When it comes to growing cannabis indoors, the quality of your grow lights can make or break the entire enterprise. LEDs, fluorescents, and high-density discharge lights are all valid options for close indoor growing spaces, though the options vary significantly in temperature and energy consumption. Dedicated lighting control systems can be a handy addition to your grow room, though they aren’t strictly necessary if you’re just getting started with growing. For a portion of the growing cycle, you’ll also need a way to keep your plants in a light-deprivation space.
Insulated Metal Panels
Choosing the right wall panels for your grow room makes controlling the temperature and humidity of the space significantly easier. Insulated metal wall panels provide a foundation for your grow room space that helps ensure the success of your crops. These installations can also go a long way in preventing your area from collecting too much mildew due to the humidity changes. The metal surface can also help keep pests out, which can sometimes be handy if you grow in an unfinished basement.
Epoxy Flooring
Epoxy floor coatings are a must-have design feature for cannabis grow rooms. These surfaces are durable, high-resistant technology that offers a range of benefits for both growers and the actual plants. Epoxy flooring can, in many cases, improve the air quality of the entire space and prevent off-gassing. Plants can also benefit from this material because it increases the reflectivity of your grow lights. These surfaces also make clean-up a breeze, particularly during a harvest. In certain states and municipalities, epoxy floor coatings are also necessary to comply with the local growing regulations.
Scalability
Rather than thinking about how much space you need right now, consider the future of your growing business. The right grow room for your efforts will likely expand as you become more efficient and comfortable with the entire operation. Building a second separate grow room usually ends up being more expensive than simply extending your existing space, so you’ll need to think carefully about what your options are for adding more plants. Usually, roller benches and vertical growing solutions are the first steps for expansion. Following these additions, the next steps for increasing the number of plants you’re working with are often expensive.
If you’re looking for a growing area that’s significantly larger than what a grow room can offer, you may want to consider a dedicated greenhouse. A greenhouse makes temperature and humidity controls even easier to manage and allows natural light to assist plant growth rather than grow lights. If you’re converting to a larger space in the future, you may want to consider an automated trimming system, which makes collecting and harvesting a straightforward process.
