Hello All, I need some advice. I've built a 7x14ft insulated room inside a metal garage which gets very hot in summer. I've just learned the minisplit i plan to install does not provide any air exchange. I was planning to just have a tent that vented back into the cooled room but that will not work without air exchange. Now I'm planning to cut a 6" hole and vent the tent air directly out of tent into the garage which will cause hot air to passively leak in. Is there a better more efficient way of doing this? I've started researching ERVs but there has to be a simpler way.
problem with garages is many are easy to bust open and rip you off, most garages are near the public way and smell maybe legal, being ripped is too easy, minisplit suggests HPS lighting in a 7x14 is an added cost?
I have run hps in the past but have moved onto Mars hydro LED. Garage is not visible from any road and is quite secure. Will absolutely be using charcoal filter.
Looks like i found my solution. A contractor buddy recommended a portable AC unit. The downside is I'll need to cut a bigger hole in the walls for ventilation but it will be exchanging air so i can vent my tent air directly into the cooled room to keep the system efficient and semi closed. Will the portable AC unit provide enough ventilation? Only time will tell
I use a portable a/c in my closet and I do have to say that they are extremely expensive to use and they are not very good at cooling. A 2 hose portable is better but still nowhere as good as a properly sized wall/window a/c unit. my 2 cents so you have this as a data point. Since it is a sealed room, have you considered using CO2 so the need to exchange air is minimal if even needed at all?
Agree. Portables are highly inefficient at cooling a tent or grow room. Also agree with using the sealed room to be able to do CO2 injection.
Was trying to avoid CO2 just to avoid the additional complexity. Can elaborate on how to setup, monitor, and use CO2?
There a few different ways you can set it up. Most will either use bottled CO² or a CO² generator but I don't like the generators because they are open flame. I've read that some people will use a on tankless water heater to generate CO². You'll need a CO² monitor to monitor the PPM in the room and control the gas valve on both the bottled and generated CO². You'll need a regulator that goes on the top of your CO² tank if you go that route. Once you set it up all you need to do is set your monitor to the PPM you want in the air, usually around 1500ppm, and let it do its thing. Your job is to try and keep it contained for as long as possible.