Whether you are trying to save up on heating expenses during the winter season or trying to lower the grow tent temperature during extremely hot summer days, insulating your grow tent is a critical step you need to take.
In this article, I will show you the exact tricks I use to insulate my grow tent and maintain a constant temperature year-round.
- Foam Board Insulation For A Grow Tent
- Use A Closed Loop Supplemental CO2 System
- Use Anti-Return Exhaust Fan
- Run A Weekly Air Seal Test
- Install A Smart Climate Control Monitoring System
Maintaining the optimum temperature levels of any plant is crucial to boost its growth rate, and as a result, maximizing its yield production.
Significantly high temperatures could produce a wilted plant that is not able to function properly. On the other side, the low temperature could collapse a plant’s metabolism which will keep its growth rate at its minimum.
Whether it’s heating costs or cooling costs, the monthly bills that come as a result of owning and running a grow tent could be overwhelming.
So, insulating your grow tent and making it maintain its temperature without being impacted by the overall seasonal weather is the best thing that you need to do.
In the following sections, I will tell you the exact tricks that I found to be the most effective in retaining the grow tent’s internal temperature without being affected by any temperature fluctuations happening outside.
Do Grow Tents Keep The Heat In?
So, let’s start first by asking a direct question about the ability of grow tents to hold heat.
Do grow tents keep the heat in? Unfortunately, this is unlikely as the insulation in these structures is not very effective. The walls of grow tents are composed of thin layers of Mylar and canvas, materials that do not offer much insulation. Moreover, using a ventilation system further reduces the insulation capabilities of a grow tent.
If there is a massive gap between the internal temperature and the room temperature in which the grow tent is placed, I guarantee there will be constant heat loss.
Running a ventilation system inside your grow tent is crucial for the plant’s survival. However, the exhaust fan will keep pulling hot air outside.
As a result, maintaining heat inside could be almost impossible to achieve without providing your grow tent with the proper insulation.
Foam Board Insulation For A Grow Tent
There are various types of insulation material available on the market these days.
- Foam Board
- Fiberglass
- Spray Foam
- Reflective Foil Insulation Foam
Insulation materials like spray foam will provide the most effective insulation that you can ever get. However, it has a relatively high cost and does require the help of a professional contractor due to its complicated process
On the other hand, fiberglass insulation does provide a really cheap alternative. But, it doesn’t have high insulation capabilities.
Moreover, you need an insulation material that is compatible with a to-grow tent’s shape and specs. Fiberglass is designed to be embedded inside walls early on during the construction phase of a house.
This brings us to foam boards. By using foam boards, you are guaranteed to get the highest value for your money. Also, foam boards are one of the easiest and most compatible insulation materials for a grow tent.
Grow Tent Insulation Costs With Foam Boards
The table below describes how much it costs to insulate a grow tent using rigid foam boards.
| Grow Tent Size | Insulation Area Required | Average Cost (1-Inch Thick) | Average Cost (2-Inch Thick) |
| 2ftx2ft | 54.25 ft² | $81.375 | $108.5 |
| 2ftx4ft | 85.25 ft² | $127.875 | $170.5 |
| 4ftx4ft | 124 ft² | $186 | $284 |
| 4ftx8ft | 201.5 ft² | $302.25 | $403 |
In order to insulate a grow tent, you need to cover all of the outer surfaces which include the floor, tent ceiling, and door.
The foam board thickness is determined by how much the difference between the outer temperature and internal temperature of a grow tent.
If the temperature difference is not that significant, a 1-inch thick foam board will be the perfect insulation for your grow tent. However, If you do live in an extremely cold state such as Minnesota, it’s best if you could upgrade to a 2-inch thick foam board.
Installing Foam boards on a grow tent is a DIY project that only requires a heavy-duty saw and duct tape. There is no need to bring a professional contractor.
Use A Closed-Loop Supplemental CO2 System
One of the most crucial aspects that prevent us from properly insulating a grow tent is its ventilation system. Let me explain how a ventilation system can drain heat energy out of your grow tent and thus raise your heating bills through the roof.
The constant inward and outward flow of air by the inline and exhaust fans will prevent the grow tent from retaining its internal temperature at optimum levels.
As a result, the heating system that you have inside will be running for more extended hours which will increase your heating bills. The same conditions do apply to growing tents running in extremely hot weather.
By using a supplemental closed-loop CO2 system, you are stopping the air exchange whether it is going into or out of the grow tent. This will maintain your grow tent insulated and a ventilation system would no longer be needed.
Use A Non-Return Exhaust Fan
If you are still going to keep your current ventilation system, make sure that you use a Non-return exhaust fan. I do understand that you might be on a limited budget currently, or you are not experienced enough to run a CO2 supplemental system. However, you have to replace your current exhaust fan with another one that has a non-return feature.
Normal exhaust fans can sometimes allow air to flow from the outside of the grow tent into the inside. If there is a significant difference between the inner and outer temperatures, the insulation capabilities of the grow tent will be severely reduced.
The anti-return exhaust fan guarantees that air will flow only in one direction and will block any air flowing in the opposite direction.
Off course, using a non-return exhaust fan cannot be compared to the efficiency of using a closed-loop CO2 system. However, It could be an easier alternative to work with.
Run A Weekly Air Seal Test
Insulation is defined as an object being completely isolated from certain conditions using a non-conducting material. Complete isolation is critical in maintaining the grow tent’s insulation seal.
Breaking the insulation seal could happen as a result of air leakage.
Air leakage can occur due to various reasons.
- Incomplete door closure
- Low-quality grow tent material
- Hidden cuts
Any air leakage would result in either cold air getting in or hot internal air flowing out.
In order to keep track of any air leakage, you should run weekly air seal tests.
Hearing the term ‘Air Seal Test’ could make some people overwhelmed thinking of it as a complicated technical process which is completely not true.
3 Steps For To Check Air Sear For A Grow Tent:
- Close all of the ventilation fans with a temporary piece of cloth and duct tape.
- Run an electric air blower through a small opening in the grow tent’s door.
- Check and detect any air leakage from all sides of the grow tent.
After detecting leaking spots, you could block them using small duct tape patches.
Install A Smart Climate Control Monitoring System
To keep a grow tent insulated, keep its internal growing conditions isolated from the outer environment for as long as possible. On the contrary, owning and running a grow tent is a responsibility that requires us to always check if everything is running well.
What growers would normally do, is open and check the growing vital conditions, like temperature and humidity, every couple of hours. By doing so, you are breaking the grow tent’s isolation seal that we are trying to achieve.
Instead, I highly recommend you install a smart climate control monitoring system. A Smart monitoring system will allow you to keep a close eye on the grow tent’s growing conditions from outside. Moreover, some monitoring systems do come with a mobile app feature so that you can stay updated even when you are not at home.
There are advanced climate control systems that regulate all of the growing tent conditions including temperature, humidity, ventilation rate, and growing light intensity. A fully automated system like this will guarantee you a fully functional growing tent with the lowest percentage of error.
Source
- https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/install-rigid-foam/
