Grow room design help

[Cannakhalifa]

Im planning on putting a grow in a shed using a 2x2 tent ,the shed has a tiled roof but no insulation, is a tent detectable from a helicopter,?ill be using 1x400w bulb ,any information anyone can give me on this is appreciated thanks

 

[David Bowman]

to

IMHO, a tent provides a little insulation against heat loss but not enough to completely hide it from, for example, FLIR. If you want maximum stealth, I would insulate the roof and walls of the shed.

 

[Cannakhalifa]

to

IMHO, a tent provides a little insulation against heat loss but not enough to completely hide it from, for example, FLIR. If you want maximum stealth, I would insulate the roof and walls of the shed.

Would i best be doing this with foilback kingspan,?

 

[David Bowman]

I'm not familiar with that term Cannakhalifa. Could you describe that for us folks across the pond?

 

[Cannakhalifa]

Its a type of foam like insulation eather 25-50-70-100mm thick and its foil backed on eather side,id imagine thats a good thermo insulator,?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

FLIR (forward looking infra red)

In general picks up exhaust vents, non sealed areas like the gap under the door, eaves of the roof, windows are just some things which show off heat escape etc

More of a problem with lots of lights than a single 400w

But you will still need air exchange for good growing & venting of warm air, so that is the dilemma !


How ever FLIR doe's come in hand held units these days but most of this stuff is short range even the helicopters flir will only best be good at 1000 meters (1 km) or less ?


They are hardly going to run flir during the summer months when its hotter in the day time & more off an early morning/evening thing when temps are cooler too pick up heat singles !

During the day when temps are warmer objects will pick up thermal energy from the sun (heat) this all distorts readings readings at best...

So the cooler months of the year are more at risk.



FLIR don't really come in to it in till complaints about funny smells, electric bill company gets questioned etc or you have 3 sports cars on your drive when you are unemployed !



In the UK most of flir reports comes from energy company helicopters & on request the police may tag along for the ride... energy companies use flir to monitor their power lines for breaches in power cables...

As you can imagine helicopters are tad expensive run hence a cheaper ride & they ain't gonna do that to many times of year a couple at best...



I had a friend who was paranoid about a 300w CFL bulb, i told him the radiator under the window gave off more of a thermal signature than the bulb did when in use... lol

Also heard of a funny story

About an old lady who received a visit from the police one day & was asked to show the contents of her shed... it turned out she was using a radiator during the winter months to keep her guinea pigs warm

 

[David Bowman]

With all the crime prevalent around the world, you would think that LEOs would have much more important things to do than check-up on some elderly woman possibly growing a weed. Oh I forgot that the police organizations, at least in the U.S., gain most of their resources (money, seized property) from busting illegal drug activities, not to mention the government funding of their operations based on the number of drug arrests/prosecutions made.

 

[David Bowman]

Its a type of foam like insulation eather 25-50-70-100mm thick and its foil backed on eather side,id imagine thats a good thermo insulator,?

That should work fine and as Fuzzy said, you probably are relatively safe from discovery based solely on heat alone.

 

[JJ Bones]

Aside from legal reasons, the insulation is extremely necessary for you to provide optimal growing conditions. Anytime someone tries to grow in a non-insulated structure it's an uphill battle.

 

[David Bowman]

Good point JJ! I take that for granted growing inside an insulated house.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Good point JJ! I take that for granted growing inside an insulated house.

Its a good point

One must think about seasonal temperatures effecting the grow area aka the shed so insulation should really be looked at to maintain the best temps for growing through out the year !

 

[Cannakhalifa]

Thanks guys thats much help,im gonna go with a 50mm kingspan sheet all around grow room with all joints sealed with foil tape, as for air intake and extraction what would i be best doig,?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Mmm

I would be incline to insulate underneath the tent or grow box itself as floors get cold in the winter months this may induce cold root syndrome & slow/stunt growth

How ever most ventilation is based on intake & extraction.

Passive intake at bottom of tent some thing like this... mesh vents & can be DIY just needs to be bug proof !

Active extraction & odor control need to be a top of the tent as warm air rise's after all !

Ideally extraction/venting warm air needs to be outside of the shed other wise inside the warm air gets recycled & may increase temps... might be able to come up with some funky ideas to cool the warm air whilst venting out ?



Just want to babble on about light timing etc

Now most of us run our lights on period during the night as temps are cooler so we get better temp control in the grow tent but may depend if ya got air conditioning or not ? (unlikely in a shed)

As you may well imagine running lights on during the day time in peak summer months things are going to get pretty darn warm !

Just something to think about



Oh by the way a 400w hps will cover an area of 1 meter square, i use a 400w in a 90cm by 90cm tent myself with pretty good results