If you’re planning on growing marijuana or other plants indoors, then grow tents are undoubtedly a must-have component for you.
But, to have a healthy and quantitative harvest, not only do you need to provide your plants with the best suitable grow tent, but you also need to make sure your grow tent remains cool during the scorching heat of the summer — especially from June to August.
If you want to successfully deal with heat issues, I can bet this article will get you rid of this problem in no time.
How To Cool A Grow Tent?
Here, I’m going to walk you through the simple 7 methods of how to cool a grow tent that’s unusually hot. So, let’s get straight into it!
1. Use Inline Or Oscillating Fan:
When it comes to using fans, there are two types of fans available out there — Inline fans and Oscillating fans.
Inline fans stick around in the ducting and care for both the air exhaust and air intake. Whereas you need to attach the oscillating fans to the grow tent wall and they mainly care for the inner air circulation of your grow tent.
In addition to ventilating the grow room, consider placing at least one oscillating fan inside your grow tent. But, in the case of larger tents, you will need to have several.
Oscillating fans also work wonders to ensure your plants have a steady airflow. For this reason, not only can your plants remain cool, but they can also remain free from molds and fungus.
So, choosing the right size and type of fan is essential to maintain a healthy temperature for your plants.
Where you locate your fans is also crucial. Because if you put the fans in the wrong position, they won’t promote any cool and fresh air. Instead, they will only keep circulating the existing hot air in the air. Therefore, locate them wisely.
2. Put A Swamp Cooler:
Placing a swamp cooler in your grow tent can also be your go-to option to keep the tent’s temperature down. These coolers use the principles of evaporative cooling to cool the air and that’s why they are called evaporative coolers as well.
The cool air more effectively than other cooler types such as regular air conditioners.
Swamp coolers can be the best bet for you if you are in need of increasing the humidity level. However, if your tent’s environment is just okay or too humid, then you should make use of an ordinary air conditioner in lieu of a swamp cooler.
3. Keep An Air Conditioner:
It is beyond saying that, using an air conditioner inside the grow tent is the quickest cooling mechanism to take the temperature down.
But, remember, it is actually ideal for use in a larger tent. Because not only does it occupy more space, but it cools the air a bit more too.
If you place an air conditioner outside of the tent yet inside your room, it will also serve the purpose well. Because it cools the outer air of the tent and then the intake sucks the air inside the tent.
This cooling machine actually works better for a confined space like a grow tent. So if you want to spend your hard-earned money on keeping your tent cool, you can go for mini AC units.
Though mini ACs are not that powerful, they are powerful enough for smaller grow tents. They are portable as well.
But, if your room is a bit large, you can give split ACs ago. They are durable, efficient, and self-controlling, but not portable. Mind you, you will have to pay a few more bucks for this equipment.
4. Use A Water Chiller:
Well, if you can’t afford AC units for your indoor gardening, not to worry, there is a more affordable and excellent option available for your convenience. That’s the water chillers.
These electric devices absorb the moist vapors and emit the chilled ones. Water chillers are of two types- one is the water-based chillers and the other one is the air-based chillers.
Though the latter one is cheaper, it is less efficient for your grow tents that are larger than 4’×4′. So, I would recommend you use water-cooled chillers.
Both of these devices are equipped with water reservoirs containing the water, as well as an evaporating system to cool the temperature down. Additionally, they help to keep humidity levels high.
As you’ve already come to know, low humidity is one of the main culprits behind scaling up tent heating. But, if you want to handle the humidity issue without going through much of a hassle, you can also use a good-quality humidifier.
5. Use LED Lights:
By using LED lights, you can cool down the temperature in your grow space with ease. They generate a must-needed amount of heat which is lesser compared to traditional electrical ballast-based lighting systems.
Though LED lights produce less amount of heat, they are way better than outdated HPS or MH lamps in all respects. So, it’s time to go with LED grow lights instead of using HPS or MH.
LED lights also draw less power out of the power socket but supply a higher wattage, which helps the growers greatly reduce their electricity costs.
Aside from this, the lights will last for a longer period of time in comparison with the other types of grow lights.
6. Use Light at Night-Time:
It is obvious that the night time temperatures are usually more prone to be much cooler than that of the daytime.
So, if you consider using grow-lights during night time, it will make sure that the temperatures of the outside are lower and also won’t pile on to the current atmospheric heat. That’s why it’s a great option for indoor growers.
Besides, during night time hours, some power companies intend to offer lower electricity rates, which will save you a few bucks. That’s an additional bonus, right?
7. Move The Grow Tent To The Basement:
Be mindful that the lower reaches of your home will be cooler than the upper reaches. If you therefore currently place your grow tent upstairs, you can choose to shift it to the basement, which will provide a bit cooler temperature.
Why Do You Need to Keep Grow Tents Cool?
If an excess amount of heat builds up in your grow tent, it will pose a great threat to your plants’ overall growth. That’s exactly why you need to keep the grow tents cool.
If your grow lights heat up too much, it can burn off the top parts of your plants, or your grow lights themselves can get damaged because of the excess heat.
Furthermore, the excess heat could result in slower growth of your plants and they would need more water as well.
Hence, always try to provide a moderate amount of heat to your plants. Because the right balance is what the plants need. Having too much or too little of anything is always bad.
Final Thoughts:
Okay, there you have it, folks. Take a deep breath and pat your back, as you’ve just finished reading a 1200+ words write-up on how to cool a grow tent and come to know some of the effective yet available options.
To sum up, as you need to keep the environment of your grow tent under control for the best possible growth and yields, go on choosing the best solution smartly from the aforementioned list.
Even if it costs some money, never hesitate to invest. It will definitely be worth it in the end.
And, if I miss anything in the article, please do let me know in the comments section below. Happy growing up. Thanks!!!