Ceiling height- is lower better than too tall?

[Old Buck]

Is the empty space at the top of the room a disadvantage? I built a 4x4x8 space with drywall and thought dropping the ceiling 1-2 feet to decrease the volume by 24-32 cu. ft could be more convenient for ventilation and maintaining the proper environment.
Or will shrinking the space have the opposite effect?

For reference I will use a 4" Hurricane w/Bridgelux LED strips @600W (dimmable) and likely LST sativas, so I don't think plant height will matter as I believe I can hang the lights just above the plants. But I know nothing so I'd love to hear thoughts from the experienced growers before I make a dumb move.

 

[Bill284]

Is the empty space at the top of the room a disadvantage? I built a 4x4x8 space with drywall and thought dropping the ceiling 1-2 feet to decrease the volume by 24-32 cu. ft could be more convenient for ventilation and maintaining the proper environment.
Or will shrinking the space have the opposite effect?

For reference I will use a 4" Hurricane w/Bridgelux LED strips @600W (dimmable) and likely LST sativas, so I don't think plant height will matter as I believe I can hang the lights just above the plants. But I know nothing so I'd love to hear thoughts from the experienced growers before I make a dumb move.

Good morning @Old Buck hope you are well my friend.
Where have you been since 2017 ?
Imo your best to leave the extra space available instead of cutting it off.
It won't help for ventilation but will give you options down the rd.
Plants don't always cooperate and extra space will be invaluable.
I'm glad your using drywall, great for fire resistance.
Hope everything works out well.
Take care.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[SmokingWings]

Is the empty space at the top of the room a disadvantage. ..............
Or will shrinking the space have the opposite effect?

The opposite effect based on my experience.

I started off with a dedicated flowering cabinet and after several years I bought a tent. I chose one that was as high as it could be and still fit into the room. I mounted all the lights at the very top, as tight to the tent's ceiling as I could. The plant pots are placed on shelves or benches or whatever we would want to call them. Then I can raise or lower them as needed to keep the canopy the distance from the lights that I want.

Other than lighting the other environmental point is the heating and cooling. If it is cool or cold then it is easier to heat up a smaller space but will the several cubic feet less be of space. At the same time the extra space acts as a buffer zone against any changes in temperature.

Biggest thing is that small spaces will heat up faster and often get hotter than the grower wants. It seems like we see more requests for suggestions and help for solving heat problems than we see for cabinets, tents or rooms that are to cool.

Bonus is that I have to do a lot less bending all the way over when I have to water the pots or do any work on the plants. They all are pretty much between chest and eye level so less strain on my back. Another bonus is that I can store extra equipment and stuff under the benches or shelves since I put saucers under each pot and do not let water sit on the floor of the tent.

 

[BarnacleBill]

I would say leave it at 8'. The fact that the extra space will help buffer the heat and help from overheating has already been mentioned but... You said sativas? By the time you add pot height, ventilation in the cabinet then the light, your probably looking at about 6' operating space. For a true land race sativa like Durban Poison, kinda tight. I would keep the height and not lower it.

 

[SmokingWings]

I would say leave it at 8'. The fact that the extra space will help buffer the heat and help from overheating has already been mentioned but... You said sativas? By the time you add pot height, ventilation in the cabinet then the light, your probably looking at about 6' operating space. For a true land race sativa like Durban Poison, kinda tight. I would keep the height and not lower it.

Good point on the Sativa and Sativa dominant plants.

 

[HappyHazmat88]

Yup extra room is always needed in my opinion.... Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.... No matter what you choose just keep the "stretching" phase in mind. Good luck growmie

 

[Phytoplankton]

Agree with all above, extra space is always desirable, you can veg longer for bigger plants, and if you get one that goes into a "super stretch" you've got the room to deal with it. Nothing more frustrating than having plants outgrow their space.

 

[The Dirty]

Personally I keep the extra height.

If you raise it by 2 feet all you have to keep in mind is that your space is 25% larger than if you left it low so calculate your ventilation accordingly. As it's only a vertical change lighting stays the same.

Good Luck man.

 

[Old Buck]

I appreciate the insight provided by each of you- glad I reached out for opinions before I sabotaged myself