What is a Solar Power Grow Room? A Complete Guide!
Growing crops have become a problem for those who are living in cold and warm areas. People living in these areas find it difficult to grow plants in the proper surroundings. To make the situation worse, heavy rains after a month of planting cause significant losses as well. But we have good news that we can avoid this by growing our plants in a solar power grow room.
It is an interior space or area specifically for growing indoor plants. But it is not just “a room” (More on that later!)
What If I tell you that a grow room can ensure top quality of your plants, high yield, and better end product regardless of weather conditions. Yep, sounds promising, right?
In this article, we are going to discuss promising features and uses of grow rooms powered by solar panels. So, stick till the end as this might be the most informative thing you will read today.
What is Solar Power Grow Room?
A Solar Power Grow room is an area dedicated to indoor gardening, specifically cultivating and growing plants. It is outfitted with a variety of equipment to “mimic” the outdoor environment.
A grow room can ensure the quality of your plants regardless of the weather conditions. So, how does this room gets the energy to provide a suitable environment? Well, like the name “Solar power Grow Room” itself suggests, solar panels are used in this system.
Solar panels are made up of silicon which is a semiconductor material as it can absorb any incoming energy from sunlight. To create an electric field, these panels have negative and positive layers. Solar panels are cutting-edge devices that are designed to satisfy the desire for convenience and efficacy in growing plants.
Benefits of Using A Solar Power Grow Room
Investing in an off-grid grow room can be the most effective way to ensure the quality of an indoor grow room. A solar-powered grow room could be ideal for you, whether you connect to the grid or prefer to keep a low profile with an off-grid system.
Below are some of the promising benefits of solar power grow room:
Grow Room Provides Security
As police and Federal DEA agents look for increased electricity bills and infrared heat signatures of houses, it is safer to use off-grid grow rooms. Off-grid grow rooms use less electricity and produce less of a heat signature. Also, if you have a solar off-grid system, you will be able to run for days without interruption in the event of a power outage. This is important because losing power can potentially stunt the growth of your indoor plants.
It is Environment Friendly
Plants need many essential nutrients such as zinc to grow healthy. The environment provides all of the resources. However, due to deforestation, pollution, and overconsumption, these resources may become scarce in the future. Using chemical alternatives may help, but it will affect the quality of your plants. This can be an issue, especially if you’re growing plants for a living.
However, if you use a solar panel Grow room you will play a significant role in the preservation of nature as solar panels have a less negative impact on the environment. How?
Solar panels produce no greenhouse gases. These gases endanger the environment by contributing to global warming. This feature enables you to use solar panels in your grow room without being concerned about the waste they generate and how it may harm the environment and animal habitats.
You Can Save Money if you Opt for Solar Powdered Grow Room
As far as saving money is concerned, solar power grows room can save money on electricity bills and offset an estimated monthly 800 kilowatt-hours, the equivalent of a small grow room. 800 kilowatt hours equals 800 times 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
We know that setting solar grow rooms might be expensive, but considering how much money you can save in the long run, your one-time investment will undoubtedly pay off.
How Much Electricity Does the Solar Grow Room Consumes?
Firstly, you can calculate how much power the entire grow room consumes by a solar power calculator. Assume you have a grow room consisting of a 4-by-4-foot tent with four plants, an oscillating fan, 20 gallons of water, and a 600-watt HPS bulb.
Let say you use a 24-hour lighting schedule in the vegetative stage for one month. Then, the total power consumed will be approximately 14,400 watts per day, or approximately 400 kWh per month, just for lighting. After the first month, the lighting requirements will be cut in half for the next two months.
As a result, the year-round grower will benefit because this setup will require approximately 7,000 watt-hours per day or 196 kWh per month. To save more power, the owners should ensure that the pump can deliver water to the plants much more quickly. Hence, the plants will be able to make the most of the time for feeding and hydration.
To calculate the watts consume to power up the pump, multiply the amps by the volts. As a result, the maximum rating for this basic beginner set-up in the example will be around 450 kWh per month for power that you supply to the entire room. This power consumption is totally affordable.
Type of Solar Powered Grow Lights That You Can Use
Following solar powered grow lights should be used if you want better growth of your plant along with saving money:
Fluorescent Lights
These bulbs are great for smaller grow rooms, seedlings, house plants, and supplemental lighting. It comes in three different styles: T5, T8, and T12. The T stands for Tube, and the number represents the light’s diameter in eighths of an inch. Electromagnetic induction is used to generate electricity in these lights.
LED Lights
These bulbs are small in size and use less power while producing more light intensity. It also produces less heat than more traditional lighting options. LED lighting is an excellent starting point for a solar-power grow room. They may require a significant initial investment, but they are worth buying in the long run. LED lighting is affordable with proper planning and expectations.
High-Intensity Discharge or HID Bulbs
They are extremely powerful full-spectrum solar grow lights, but they can be costly to operate due to the high energy consumption. They’re ideal for plants that need a lot of light to flower. They are available in either High-Pressure Sodium Bulbs or Metal Halide Bulbs for the flowering stage.
Effective Ways to Lower Your Grow Room Electricity Costs
There are several ways to reduce your grow room electricity costs, ranging from minor adjustments to a complete overhaul of your full spectrum grow lights. Let’s start with the most basic ways to save money on your energy bill.
Use Your Lights at the Most Cost-Effective Time
The cost of electricity varies throughout the day, with the highest kWh costs occurring during the hottest parts of the day. You can experiment with running your lights at night when energy costs are lower. In this way, you can lower your grow room electricity consumption.
Select an Auto-Flowering or Fast-Growing Strain
Autoflowering strains and others with short harvest times can shorten your growing cycle by weeks. Obviously, this will save you money on electricity and run your grow room more effectively. Fast-growing strain is also helpful if you have a short time to grow your plants.
Use More Energy-Efficient Full Spectrum Grow Lights
Using more efficient grow lights is the best way to reduce the cost of running your grow room. LED solar powered grow lights are more expensive at first, but they pay for themselves over time. LEDs also produce brighter light with a wider spectrum. So, you should use LED lights to make a perfect grow room for your plants. You can also use a power inverter for grow lights too.
Determine the Power Rating
Let’s assume you get five hours of direct sunlight per day, depending on the location of your solar panel installation and the number of trees and shade obstructing the sun. Divide your average daily kWh consumption by the hours of sunlight your panels are exposed to calculate the capacity of the solar panel setup you require.
Things You Should Consider Before Setting Grow Room
Before setting a grow room you should consider how much energy you use in your home, as well as how much energy you use in your grow room. Moreover, you should decide on your light source first. Decide on the type of lights you will use in your grow room. Then, compare the total costs of expenses to the benefits of each type of light you can use.
To maintain solar power grow room, you should consider the replacement costs associated with going solar. Check the warranties of the solar panels and inverters, and then incorporate them all into your long-term payoff structure. You can also use DIY solar-powered grow light to grow entirely healthier plants.
Wrapping up
All in all, if you want to reap the benefits of your solar power grow room investment, you must carefully plan out the design and layout of your indoor grow area. A grow room solar energy system is almost free to operate and protects you from increasing electricity bills. It also works independently of local electrical circuits, so the room will remain powered up without disrupting your home.
You should use solar grow rooms as they are cutting-edge to satisfy your desire for convenience and efficacy in growing plants. Do let us know in the comment section down below if you have any queries related to the solar grow room!
FAQs
How many solar panels do I need to run a 1000 watt light?
You must be wondering how many solar panels to run grow light. You are not alone! People also ask, how many solar panels to run a 1000 watt light. Well, Most 1000 watt solar panel systems are made up of five 200-watt solar panels or ten 100-watt solar panels. Moreover, adding the wattage of panels in each system results in 1000 watts or 1 kilowatt. Hence, solar power grow room is totally affordable as it consumes less power.
Can you run grow lights on solar?
Yes, you can use full-spectrum grow lights on solar. Solar power is being used by an increasing number of growers to power their grow lights. This option, which involves using solar panels to draw energy to batteries for storage before converting it to alternating current (AC) power with an inverter, has many advantages.
Can you run your whole house on solar power?
Yes, solar energy can power your entire home if you work with the right company to install your panels. The average home in the United States uses 10,400 kWh of electricity per year. If you installed a typical 250-watt solar panel, you’d need 28-34 panels to generate enough energy to power your entire home. Hence, using solar power for running your home is an affordable option.
How many solar panels are needed to power a room?
We estimate that a typical home requires between 20 and 25 solar panels to cover 100% of its electricity consumption. The actual number you’ll need to install is determined by factors such as your geographic location, panel efficiency, panel rated power, and personal energy consumption habits.
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