Commercial Dehumidifiers | Grow Rooms & Grow Facilities
If you are growing in a large warehouse or grow room, you likely need a larger commercial-grade dehumidifier to help remove excess moisture from the air. Without one, you run the risk of excess moisture compromising your grow, costing you far more than one of these dehumidifiers would have.
One of the most significant challenges for the indoor farming industry is creating and maintaining a steady, consistent environment for plants to thrive. Without a reliable environment, you could lose your entire harvest.
Once you lose control of your climate, profound crop-crushing issues can begin to take hold. The two main concerns many growers face at one time or another are powdery mildew and botrytis, more commonly known as bud rot. Either of these issues can destroy a grow and lead to lost revenue.
Humidity is one of the most important aspects of a grow room. Too much or too little humidity can be a problem. Plants do best in humidity levels of 40-50% during veg and flowering and slightly higher during propagation. If your moisture levels are too low or too high, it can have detrimental effects on your plants.
If you do not already have one, we recommend all growers keep a hygrometer in the grow room to help control the humidity. Many of these devices also contain thermometers, helping control the temperature simultaneously!
Do I Need A Commercial Grade Dehumidifier?
Commercial dehumidifiers are designed for use in a greenhouse, expansive indoor gardens, and large spaces. On the other hand, portable dehumidifiers are great for hobby or home growers with small grow rooms. These smaller units are not well suited for maintaining moisture in the environment of a larger operation.
Whether or not you need a commercial or industrial dehumidifier will depend on your electrical system. Commercial greenhouses and warehouses often times use 208 Volt or 240 Volt plugs. This is to efficiently power a large system.
How does a commercial dehumidifier work?
Commercial grade dehumidifiers work in the same manner as most dehumidifiers - just on a much larger scale. The unit will suck in hot, moist air with a fan. This air then crosses over it’s refrigerant-cooled coils.
The dehumidifier works by cooling the air and causing the moisture to condense on the coils. The dry, cool air is then expelled back into the room or into a separate zone.
There are different ways you can set up your grow room dehumidifier, with ducting or ductless. It comes down to what works best for your grow. If you have questions, reach out to our experts.
How do you size a dehumidifier for a grow room?
First, consider your growing space. How many gallons of water are you feeding plants daily? You will take this figure and multiply it by the number of plants in your system, and then convert this to pints (there are 8 pints in 1 gallon of water).
For example, if you have 20 plants, each needing 1 gallon of water a day, you will be working with 160 pints of water. Therefore, you will need a commercial dehumidifier capable of removing 160 pints from your growing space.
We have an entire article on sizing your dehumidifier, so visit our learning center if you want to learn more!
What is the best commercial dehumidifier for growing?
When it comes to commercial grow spaces, you need a large industrial dehumidifier to manage your humidity. But, it also needs to operate efficiently so you get the best return on your investment and the highest profit possible.
At Hydrobuilder, we offer commercial grade dehumidifiers for large grow operations, from brands such as Quest, Ideal-Air, and more!
If you want a specific recommendation for your grow room, check out our list of the best dehumidifiers of the year.
What Size Industrial Dehumidifier Do I Need For My Grow Room?
The most functional way to size your grow room dehumidifier is not only by the number of lights you have but instead by how much water you're giving per day to your plants.
As a general rule, if you feed 100 gallons to your plants during the flowering period when they use the most water, you'll want to make sure you have about 90% of that total (90 gallons) available to remove through dehumidification.
To convert the example to pints per day, we need to do the following calculation:
Since there are 8 pints per gallon, you need to multiply 90 gallons x 8 (pints) to get 720 PPD (pints per day). For this example make sure your grow room has approximately 720 PPD to properly regulate relative humidity (RH).
For an even more in-depth explanation of how to size dehumidifiers for your grow room, read our 'How to size your dehumidifier for your indoor garden' blog post.
What is a Desiccant Dehumidifier?
While most people know about dehumidifiers, many presume they all use refrigerants to operate and dehumidify moist air. A desiccant dehumidifier is a type of dehumidifier that does not use refrigerant and is effective for a variety of areas.
Desiccant dehumidifiers use a desiccant substance instead of a refrigerant and compressor to draw moisture from the atmosphere. The desiccant wheel and adsorption method used by these dehumidifiers result in lower temperatures and quieter operation than traditional refrigerant dehumidifiers.
In addition, desiccant dehumidifiers, also called desiccant dryers, operate very efficiently with fewer power peaks, making them much more environmentally friendly.
What Else Are Industrial Dehumidifiers Used For?
Dehumidifiers have many uses, and besides playing a hugely important role in indoor growing and greenhouse growing, these massive dehumidifiers can help with moisture removal for buildings with water damage or need water damage restoration.
If you have any questions regarding these products, give one of our experienced growers a call today at 888-815-9763! If you want to learn more about controlling the environment in your grow, visit our learning center!
