JohnCee
Well-Known Member
I have a poorly sealed 4x4x6 flowering area, which contains a sealed 315w fixture with it's own air ventilation system. I have a dual hosed portable air conditioner inside of the room that brings in air from my basement, cools down the flowering room, but spits out the hot exhaust directly outside. I'm running a dehumidifier set at 55-60%, which doesn't really kick on which the lights are on, however seems to run on/off constantly without the lights.
The issue is that when the lights are off the temperature inside of the room is low enough to prevent the air conditioner from kicking on the compressor, and the air coming into the room through the air conditioning unit raises the RH to 99% within a minute. The dehumidifier kicks on to combat this and the heat created from the dehumidifier raises the room temperature, which kicks on the air conditioning unit letting both units run for 1-2 minutes until either of them kick off and the process repeats within 1-2 minutes.
This was lovely during the winter because the energy costs were cheap enough that it didn't really bother me, however this last bill went up quite a bit so I checked the kilowatt meter, and it's running at $6.48 a day ($194.40/month) for simply the air conditioning unit alone! Hoping to cut that $200/month down at least halfway at first.. I was hoping to figure out a way to prevent the 12 hours of battle during lights off.
I tried searching around myself and the best thing that I could find was a "Smart Vent", $154 delivered, which is essentially a vent that can be programmed to open/close and controlled by your mobile device.
I was thinking that I could just pop a hole in the wall and throw the vent into it, attach a ducting boot that fits from the smart vent to my fan, attach my fan and have the fan set on a timer to start a minute after the vent opens. I don't even know if this is viable, but you guys get the idea that I am trying to get at here. Hypothetically, if this worked it would cost me $154 for the smart vent, ducting boot $10-$15, and then I need 3x timers $25-30. That all adds up to around $200, and lets me get the air conditioner and dehumidifier to stop running for the 12 hours during lights off, which in theory should save around 50% on the electric bill.
Do you guys have any recommendations on cheaper and easier alternatives?
After getting the air conditioning unit and dehumidifier to stop running during lights off.. my next task will be trying to cheaply insulate the flowering room with foam board or something similar. Any kind of input on either matters will be greatly appreciated!
The issue is that when the lights are off the temperature inside of the room is low enough to prevent the air conditioner from kicking on the compressor, and the air coming into the room through the air conditioning unit raises the RH to 99% within a minute. The dehumidifier kicks on to combat this and the heat created from the dehumidifier raises the room temperature, which kicks on the air conditioning unit letting both units run for 1-2 minutes until either of them kick off and the process repeats within 1-2 minutes.
This was lovely during the winter because the energy costs were cheap enough that it didn't really bother me, however this last bill went up quite a bit so I checked the kilowatt meter, and it's running at $6.48 a day ($194.40/month) for simply the air conditioning unit alone! Hoping to cut that $200/month down at least halfway at first.. I was hoping to figure out a way to prevent the 12 hours of battle during lights off.
I tried searching around myself and the best thing that I could find was a "Smart Vent", $154 delivered, which is essentially a vent that can be programmed to open/close and controlled by your mobile device.
I was thinking that I could just pop a hole in the wall and throw the vent into it, attach a ducting boot that fits from the smart vent to my fan, attach my fan and have the fan set on a timer to start a minute after the vent opens. I don't even know if this is viable, but you guys get the idea that I am trying to get at here. Hypothetically, if this worked it would cost me $154 for the smart vent, ducting boot $10-$15, and then I need 3x timers $25-30. That all adds up to around $200, and lets me get the air conditioner and dehumidifier to stop running for the 12 hours during lights off, which in theory should save around 50% on the electric bill.
Do you guys have any recommendations on cheaper and easier alternatives?
After getting the air conditioning unit and dehumidifier to stop running during lights off.. my next task will be trying to cheaply insulate the flowering room with foam board or something similar. Any kind of input on either matters will be greatly appreciated!
