After visiting many friends grow operations and seeing many on here I was thinking how bad all of us armature gardeners are for the environment. So let put together some tips to help save our planet and still grow the best weed out there. I will move all of the best ideas up into the original post. 1.) Do not ever dump concentrated nutrients down a storm or sewer drain, and when flushing your reservoir use the water to irrigate house plants, gardens, etc. 2.) Check with your power company to see when the peak loads are in your area (in Colorado it's 4-7pm), and set you lights to come on after this period, not only will this help you on you electrical bill, but it will help stop rolling brown outs this summer and conserve power (I can explain this in more detail if needed, but it's long). 3.) If you grow indoors consider LEDs, and CFLs. 4.) If you are running a dehumidifier or air conditioner use the condensate drain to you reservoir, this water super pure (usually less than 10ppm). 5.) If your grow room runs hot, have the lights on at night, if it runs cold, have them on during the day. 6.) Do not run lights more than 18/6 for veg. Plants can only process 18 hours of light a day, any more than that and you are just wasting electricity. 7.) Do not use more than 60 watts / sq ft. We are growing plants here, not getting a tan. 8.) Use mylar. Coat the whole friggin place with it. It will allow your plants to take advantage of as much light as possible, reducing wasted lumens and watts. (Miguel420) 9.) Your idea here
Good ideas, I disagree with a few though 3 - Using CFLs and LEDs isn't necessarily better than using HPS or whatever. Watts are watts, and 400W of HPS is better than 400W of CFL 6 - I don't agree that more than 18 hours is a waste. But a good tip for saving electricity nonetheless.
Miguel, Thanks for the info ... I guess I should have clarified, I was thinking of using less wattage of CFLs for veg instead of MH. LEDs actually produce almost 2x the lumens per watt, and less energy is wasted in creating heat, green light and the ballast. I realize that this is a whole different topic still up for debate, so I might remove this one. The 18/6 information is from the grow bible, and I have seen many other growers that agree, but if this one is still up for debate it can be removed as well. I am looking to add to the list, not reduce it, any ideas?
How about 8. Use mylar. Coat the whole friggin place with it. It will allow your plants to take advantage of as much light as possible, reducing wasted lumens and watts.
How about recycle: soil containers, compost, manure, if location permits grow outdoors when ever possible. And if possible use coco instead of rockwool. Lets put our herbs back where they belong in the garden not the evidence locker, and lets keep our dollars in our pockets.
I'm looking at possibly running my exhausted hot air through a carbon scrubber, and back into the living area, to supplement my heating during the winter. Run lights at night so the AC doesn't kick on as much during the summer. Practice general energy conserving habits around the house, to help offset the electricity used for the grow room. These include, Switching to all CFLs around the house. Using powerstrips for electronics and keeping them off when not in use. Using a clothes line rather than a dryer Washing dishes by hand rather than a dishwasher. Using a programmable thermostat There are tons of other ways, google energy conservation tips. If you choose to paint your grow room ya can choose low VOC (volitile organic compounds) paint, which is environmentally friendly. Also I don't want to piss off any soil growers (i'm growin soil now, first grow), lol, but I'd almost venture to say growing with hydroponics is more environmentally friendly, in that you get faster growing, using less electricity for your lights over the span of the harvest.