Proper ventilation is a commonly overlooked part of the indoor growing process. In general, many pests, fungus, and other indoor growing issues are caused by inadequate grow room ventilation.
Using a ventilating fan is the perfect option for creating the ideal conditions for your plants. Keep reading to read more about ventilation options for indoor growing and how to keep your plants healthy and happy.
Use the below links to easily navigate this article:
- Do You Need Ventilation For Indoor Plants?
- How To Ventilate A Grow Space
- Choosing The Right Exhaust Fan For A Grow Room
- Where To Install An Exhaust Fan In A Grow Room
- Picking An Oscillating Fan For Your Grow Space
- Where To Install An Oscillating Fan In A Grow Room
- Learn More About Indoor Growing
Do You Need Ventilation For Indoor Plants?
Unlike outdoor plants that are exposed to breezes and the wind, plants indoors lack proper airflow. When airflow around and through plants is restricted, your indoor growing space can remain damp for extended periods. A damp environment is a perfect setup for the growth of fungal diseases like black spots and mildew.
Plants also need fresh air to photosynthesize. A flow of fresh air helps then to turn light, water, and carbon dioxide into food, helping plants to grow.
How To Ventilate A Grow Space
It can seem overwhelming at first to determine the best way to ventilate your grow room or grow tent, but it's easy if you just take it a few steps at a time and make sure you're getting the right tools for your indoor growing space.
- Exhaust Fans: Breathing the same stale air isn't great for our health, so it's not great for the health of plants either. Using an exhaust fan helps you remove stagnant air from grow rooms.
- Oscillating Fans: Who doesn't like a breeze of fresh air? Plants sure do. An oscillating fan keeps fresh air blanketing your indoor growing area.
Choosing The Right Exhaust Fan For A Grow Room
It can seem overwhelming at first to determine the best way to ventilate your grow room or grow tent, but it's easy if you just take it a few steps at a time and make sure you're getting the right tools for your indoor growing space.
Step 1: Determine The Volume Of Your Growing Space
If you're using a grow tent or growbox, then you probably already know the size of grow space. Go ahead and skip down to step 2.
However, if you've converted a closet to an indoor grow room, are using a basement, or another room as your growing space, it's time to break out the tape measure. You want to know the room size so that you can select the right fan for your area. A quick way to calculate the volume of your room is to multiply its length, width, and height. If you have a room that's 10 feet long, 8 feet wide, and with 8-foot ceilings, the calculation would be:
10' (length) x 8' (width) x 8' (height) = 640 cubic feet or around 80 square feet.
Step 2: Find The Right Sized Fan
When looking at exhaust fans, you'll notice that the airflow of a fan is measured in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. We know from step one that our room size is 640 cubic feet. The general recommendation is that you select a fan with a CFM equal to the volume of your room so that the air in your grow space is replaced once every minute.
Based on our example, you would want to find a ventilation fan with an airflow of at least 640 CFM.
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Where To Install An Exhaust Fan In A Grow Room
As the name suggests, an exhaust fan exhausts or pulls old air out of your room. Since warm air naturally rises, you'll want to install your exhaust fan at the top of your room or grow tent.
Depending on the other tools you are using, you may find attachments for exhaust fans in your grow tent or even on your grow lighting.
Picking An Oscillating Fan For Your Grow Space
Removing stagnant air is just one part of ventilating a grow room. Placing a few oscillating fans in your growing area is an easy and pretty affordable way to encourage the proper airflow around the plants.
The breeze from an oscillating fan can help strengthen the stems of your crop and reduce the risk of pests by preventing stagnant air.
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Where To Install An Oscillating Fan In A Grow Room
In smaller grow rooms a single oscillation fan may be all you need. Just place it in a central location and let the fan get to work.
For larger spaces, you may want to consider placing fans in opposite corners of your space to ensure even coverage of all of your plants.
Learn More About Indoor Growing
Whether you're just starting out as an indoor grower or you're an established grower looking to get maximum yield from your crops, we have the resources you need.
Take a look at our Indoor Growing Solutions Center for all the products you need to make your grow room a success. Don't forget to take a look at some of our other popular indoor growing articles:
- How To Control Humidity In Your Grow Room
- What Are Grow Tents?
- Hydroponics FAQ
- Best Grow Room Mini Splits
- Quest Hydro Dehumidifiers: The Energy-Efficient Industrial Dehumidifiers for Growers
Still Have Questions?
For questions or assistance in selecting the ventilation products for you, please contact one of our product specialists at 1-800-934-9194.
