Exhaust filters are crucial for growers operating indoors or with nearby neighbors. While you may enjoy the smell of your plants, you may not want the odor extending outside your grow room.
What is an exhaust filter?
An exhaust filter is an essential component to a ventilation system. The ventilation system in your grow room will consist of intake fans and filters and exhaust fans and filters.
The exhaust filter can be placed before or after the exhaust fan, but either way, dirty air is forced through the filter before exiting the grow tent or space.
In a ventilation system, we want to replace air every 1-3 minutes. Stagnant air can become humid, and conducive for pest problems. The exhaust system removes hot, stinky air while the intake system brings in fresh, clean air.
What does a carbon filter do in a grow room?
A carbon filters main responsibility is odor elimination. When the exhaust fan pulls the hot, smelly air through the filter, the activated carbon traps odors.
If you are growing in a grow tent in your house, odor elimination is probably important to you. To prevent the smells of your indoor garden from extending into other parts of your house, use a carbon filter.
Another reason you may want to use a carbon filter is for privacy and discretion. Carbon filters will prevent your indoor garden from being detected by neighbors or the occasional passersby.
How do carbon filters work?
The activated carbon in the filter acts as a sponge, and it will essentially trap anything that isn’t air. This means the air is being expunged of odors and emissions from the grow room.
When should I replace my carbon filter?
Eventually, the carbon exhaust filter will be holding too many contaminants, and it will stop doing its job effectively. Plan on replacing your filter before it gets saturated, which like many other aspects of a grow room, has no set life span. This will depend on how hard your filter has to work, and a good way to determine if your filter is nearing the end of its life is if you are beginning to detect the smell of your plants again. You will also need to regularly replace the carbon pre-filter.
Types of exhaust filters
Here at Hydrobuilder, we carry a number of exhaust filters. Which one is right for you will depend on the size of your growing space and where you want to place your filter.
The most common is the carbon exhaust filter. The carbon exhaust filter is superior at odor removal, and is the most versatile option.
Complete exhaust systems
If you want to keep it simple, look into our carbon filter and fan exhaust kits . This includes the inline fan, ducting, fan speed controller, and carbon exhaust filter. All of these are essential for an effective ventilation system.
If you have any questions regarding exhaust systems or ventilation components, give our expert growing staff a call today at 888-815-9763!
If you want to learn more about your ventilation system, stop by our learning center and check out our full guide on grow room ventilation!