sometime later this year i am going to be building my first room. i was considering probably using 6 HPS lights in a 3 x 2 long format. that was at least my original plan. in my other thread in the lighting forum, i am seeking information about using LED lights, possibly together with HPS, possibly alone. i realize this will change the entire format of my room, being that it would create much less heat with LEDs than HPS, meaning the ventilation system would be different. its all just an idea in my head right now that i am taking the steps toward manifesting. so any ideas or pointers or just general discussion would be greatly appreciated. ill keep ya'll posted, and surely start a journal once it becomes more of a reality. one love. here's my other thread. http://forum.grasscity.com/lighting/1368967-led-vs-hps.html
some of my current ideas: 3x2 light flower room 2 inline fans, 1 for each row of lights oscillating fans in the corners separate veg room perpetual harvest mylar wall covering organic cocoa based soil organic compost tea feeding
What do you mean each row of lights? In a 3x2 room 1 600w or 1000w HPS in a cooled hood is an awesome amount of light. As for air flow and cooling it would all depend if this is a sealed room grow or open room.
What hemptation said about lighting , 600w being most efficient as to lumens per watt , as for venting one 4" or possibly 5"w/speedcontroler inline fan should cool the room even with an open shade, if noise is a concern a 5"fan with slowed to the same as a 4"fan with speed control will be quieter than a 4"on full blast, plus if temps go up you can turn the fan up
For a 3ftx2ft room, I would follow along the lines of the recommendations above. If you end up going with an HPS ballast, a single 600w or even a single 400w will be plenty of light. Get a nice 6" inline fan and speed controller, but just one should do it. And run a cooled sealed ballast as well. If you end up opting for LEDs, just start out with 2 separate 250w units that are flower spectrum. You can downgrade to a single 4" fan as temps wont be so bad. And later down the road, you can buy supplemental LEDs to fill out the room with more light. 2 or 3 years ago, I would have said just go with the HPS, but the way LEDs are progressing is really impressive. And theyre the perfect light for small spaces like these where heat is the main issue running real lights. I know the LED units are pricey, but if you plan on doing more than 4 or 5 grows, it will save you money in the long run to just buy the LEDs. You save in electricity, both from lights and because you need less fan to extract less heat. Less fan means more efficient air filtration through a scrubber, so less scent control is needed. And, if your getting quality units, you wont ever need to replace the LED bulbs, but you will need to spend on a new HPS bulb every 3 or 4 grows, or even more often if you arent very careful with them. Obviously the veg room is an easy setup, doesnt have to be very light proof, no smell proofing required unless your soil mix is really stinky, but even then, just a cheapo hepa filter will do you fine. A decent fluorescent ballast will give enough light, use little power, and bulbs last a long time and are cheap. Very little fan needed since fluros arent hot, just need fresh air exchange. So the main concern is your flower room. 2x3 is a good floor size for 2 very respectable plants but you will also want to make sure you have height. Height limited grows are the worst. You will want at least 3 ft from soil to bulb. and more is better. Mylar for the walls is perfect. cheap and easy