The environmental control of the grow industry, with its required precision, is very similar to that of the data center with some glaring exceptions. Like data centers, cannabis facilities are energy intensive. The difference is how the energy is being created.
To create optimal grow conditions, lighting and air conditioning are imperative. Managing lighting and cooling will shorten the crop’s grow cycle and increase yield.
Grow rooms have a large latent load not present in a typical data center application. The latent load comes from the large amounts of water that are fed to the plants daily. The primary heat load is due to high intensity grow lights. The biggest design challenge however, is customizing the controller for precision temperature and humidity control. This prevents crop loss in the grow room, and helps improve the return on your investment. Therefore the design of precision air conditioning is imperative to maintain tight tolerances of temperature and relative humidity (or dew point).
With the intensity of the grow rooms, consider a UPS (battery backup) and/or a generator. Depending on the power design, you could ensure your grow facility’s uptime 100%.
Outside of power and cooling, you should also consider air filtration systems. An air filtration system filters the odors, gases and microbial contaminants. Purafil’s SPHINX line was designed specifically to address the needs of grow facilities and help licensed producers stay compliant with odor regulations by completely removing 99.9% of odorous gases commonly produced by grow house facilities. It also minimizes powdery mildew and mold, making it the ultimate solution for grow facilities.
With over 40 years experience with cooling and power in mission critical environments, JEM can help with your grow product needs. Take a look at our product portfolio.