Lighting in Design Q4 2022

tiple tiers. Temperatures of 22.3 to 29.5 de grees Celsius and 45 percent to 60 percent RH are the typical environmental conditions, and lights are on for 12 hours each day. Best grow room design advancements So, what type of grow lighting is best? This is a decision that will depend on various factors, including the size of your growing area, the type of cannabis you’re growing, and last but not least, how much you can spend. If you require a light for seedlings and clones, or you happen to have a ‘micro grow in a very small space (Grow Tent), you are likely best off with a simple CFL light. For slightly bigger grows, consider a decent LED light anywhere from 55 W-600 W. As there won’t be much heat from the light, you may be okay with a simple exhaust system and a fan. For medium to large growing operations, you can look into high-end LED fixtures, as opposed to traditional HID lights Don’t just look at wattage — Power equivalents between types of lights Now, be aware that a 200 WCFL isn’t the same as a 200 W light LED, and neither are the same as a 200 WHID. The wattage only indicates howmuch power the fixture uses, not saying anything about the light output. Because lighting technologies differ in their efficiency, you can’t compare them based on their wattage alone. This also means that a LED fixture stated as being 600 W doesn’t necessarily emit the same amount of light (and therefore produce the same yields) as, say, a 600 W HID light. Honestly, the only way to determine true light output is to go over the specs from the manufacturer. Better yet, ask other growers for their experiences with a particular make or type of light – that way you’ll know what to expect With the 4 key stages and zones identified to consider – we now need to plan to ‘light up’ a cannabis farm. Oh, that’s easy I remember thinking to myself – Plants, lights, action and cannabis is grown! How hard can it be to make a cannabis grow? Here is how the understanding process was ‘unpacked’. When you set up an indoor or greenhouse cannabis grow room, counting on daylight is unreasonable. However, cannabis is a plant just like others, so it needs considerable quantities of light to grow, develop, and mature. Light is a vital

grow light without getting informed at first. A great ‘bargain’ may ultimately just be a waste of your hard-earned cash. A typical indoor grow room when planning your LED lighting requirements Indoor cannabis operations typically include four types of grow rooms, each with unique environmental conditions, grow light types and schedules, and plant densities. These rooms are typically referred to as mother, clone, vegetative (or veg), and flower. • Mother room. This room contains large plants with the genetics desired for the production plants. The plants are typically used for six to eight months before being replaced. Mother rooms occupy a relatively small area in relationship to the other grow rooms, generally about 5 percent of the total cultivation space. Environmental conditions are typically 21 degrees to 29.5 Celsius and 40 percent to 55 percent relative humidity (RH). Grow lights are typically kept on for 18 or more hours each day. • Clone room. Leaves from Mother plants are clipped and used to propagate new plants in small containers or trays on racks within the Clone room. After two to four weeks, the plants are transplanted to the Veg room. Clone rooms are roughly the same size as a mother room. Clone room conditions can vary based on grower preferences, but typically fall in the range of 15 to 26 degrees Celsius and 50 percent to 70 percent RH. Grow lights are on for 18 to 24 hours per day. • Veg room. Plants are placed in larger con tainers on stationary or moveable benches, generally with two tiers or levels, and spend about six weeks at this stage. On average, Veg rooms will require about 20 percent of the total facility cultivation area. The space temperature can range from 21 to 29.5 de grees Celsius and humidity from 50 percent to 65 percent RH. Grow lights are kept on for 18 hours per day. • Flower room. Flower rooms take up about 70 percent of the total indoor grow area of a cannabis facility. This is the last stage of growth before harvest, lasting six to 10 weeks. Most Flower rooms use either stationary or moveable benches, and some higher production operations will have mul

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LiD Q4 - 2022

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