Why HVAC Isn’t Enough for Grow Room Humidity Control

Whether you’re incorporating a new HVAC system in your grow room, or suffering from uncontrolled humidity, despite constant HVAC operation – you can achieve a better climate, at a lower cost, by integrating a dehumidifier.

HVACs aren’t Designed for Humidity Control

HVAC systems are designed for temperature control in industrial or residential environments. Though a running HVAC does remove a small amount of water vapor, it’s not designed to remove enough water to control humidity in a cultivation setting, where plants constantly push humidity upwards.

The problem is that HVACs reduce humidity by applying cooling. In order to cope with constantly rising humidity, the system must continue to cool, driving temperatures too low, requiring reheating, investing even more energy.

The belief that these systems are enough to control humidity causes growers to install oversized systems, that run constantly at a very high energy cost.

Indoor Grow Rooms Require Massive Dehumidification Capacity

When it comes to indoor cultivation, there are unique challenges for HVACs.

Heat sources such as grow lights and electrical machinery drive temperatures up, increasing plant transpiration. The constant transpiration is a source of massive amounts of humidity.

For an HVAC system to be able to control humidity in this setting, it needs an extremely high capacity. Higher than required for simply regulating temperature.

The Problem with HVAC as Greenhouse Humidity Control

Though indoor grow rooms have their unique challenges, greenhouses pose challenges for HVACs as well.

While indoor growing requires dealing with humidity inside, many greenhouse growers ventilate to get rid of the excess humidity.

The problem with venting, is that outdoor conditions have a greater effect on the conditions inside. In most cases, growers would need to re-heat in order to reach a comfortable temperature again. To maintain the optimal conditions, HVACs would have to operate constantly, at a high energy cost.

The better solution for greenhouses, would be to close the greenhouse and treat humidity inside, with dehumidification, while maintaining comfortable temperatures. This would lead to a better climate – resulting in higher yields and better quality, as well as reduced operational costs.

Integrating a Dehumidifier with HVAC

Whether growing in a greenhouse, or indoor, using a dedicated dehumidifier to reduce humidity lets growers focus the HVAC on its intended operation – controlling temperature. Using equipment optimized for each task reduces the energy requirements to achieve the right conditions and provides greater overall control over the environment.

Using DryGair with HVAC provides:

  • The ability to use smaller HVAC systems, for shorter durations
  • More stable HVAC operation due to lower operation load
  • No humidity issues – drastically less diseases
  • Enhanced climate uniformity
  • Energy savings of 50-60% compared to HVAC alone