The cannabis industry has experienced massive growth in the past several years. With this growth comes a massive demand in supply, so the use of grow rooms and grow tents has boomed. This being stated growing cannabis is no easy, overnight task. There are many factors that growers must consider such as humidity, temperature, and light. Neglecting one or all of these variables can cause a low-quality yield from your plants.
Temperature is one of the most important factors, with cannabis plants thriving in fairly warm temperatures between 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature gets too low in your grow room, you could end up killing your plants. If your grow area is in a basement or other area that is prone to cooler temperatures you may want to invest in a quality space heater your grow room.
Here are some of the most popular brands used by indoor gardeners today:
Honeywell 360-Degree Fan Forced Surround Heater
This specific heater is small, portable, and produces energy-efficient heat. Complete with a 360-degree swivel system, it ensures that the entire room gets an equal amount of heat. Suitable to small spaces, this grow room heater is easy to use with enhanced safety features, an adjustable thermostat, overheat protection, and an easy to grab handle that remains cool to the touch. In addition, this heater has an auto-off timer option, allowing you to control the heat in your grow room even when you’re not there.
This 1500-watt heater retails for a very affordable price of $39.99 USD and has a sleek and smooth design. However, many reviews suggest that this heater is quite noisy. Although this is a small unit, it is powerful enough to keep a 600-square foot room sufficiently warm.
2. Honeywell Heat Bud Ceramic Heater
This heater is a very small, portable unit. It stands at about 6.5″ tall and is encased in a plastic housing that remains cool to the touch. This model features two low-wattage heat settings and has overheat shut off protection. It also comes in a variety of colors, leaving an option for everyone. Since grow room heaters are generally much bigger, this heater is probably best left for smaller grow spaces. This heater runs for only $24.48 USD which is pretty affordable. However, there are better options for a similar price that work better in grow room settings.
This heater is a great option for those who are looking to use it in a grow room setting. Not only does it have two heat settings, but a wide range of oscillation, allowing it to sufficiently heat a fairly large room. This heater also features a digital display and adjustable thermostat which can be set in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. In addition, this heater has a remote control and built-in timer, allowing one to control the heat in their grow room even when they are not around. Since this heater has several built-in safety features, it can be left running for hours. These features include overheat protection and shut off as well as a cool touch exterior.
Finally, this heater is very sleek and can fit in almost any grow room. It also comes fully assembled, allowing you to take it out of the box and use it almost immediately. This saves you from fiddling with confusing instructions and easy to mix up parts. Although this heater generally works well, there have been some defective models which have failed and caught on fire. This is one of the only downsides to this unit. This unit comes in at a very affordable price of $51.91 USD.
4. Lasko Ceramic Portable Space Heater with Adjustable Thermostat
This ceramic heater comes equipped with three quiet settings and an adjustable thermostat. This makes it ideal for warming up small spaces such as grow rooms. This heater features 11 different heat settings, allowing one to control the temperature in their space to a great degree. This heater is also easy to move with a convenient carrying handle.
This is a great feature for grow rooms because setups tend to change often and heat needs to be circulated. This heater is capable of fully heating rooms that are 300 square feet or smaller, making it ideal for grow room operations. This space heater also comes equipped with a cool touch exterior, allowing it to stay cool even when it’s at its highest setting.
Finally, this heater comes fully assembled which allows you to take it out of its box and use it immediately. It’s also energy efficient, with many reviewers reporting that it actually saved them money on their electricity bills. The only drawback of this heater is that it does not have any safety features besides overheat protection built into it, which means that should the heater tip over, it will continue to run unless manually shut down. This particular model retails for around $30.00 USD, making it an affordable option for most growers.
Choosing the right grow room heater involves a lot of factors. First, you have to consider your safety. If proper safety measures are not taken, your heater could be the cause of an otherwise preventable tragedy such as a fire. To make sure your heater is safe to use, look to see if it has been quality-tested by a recognized laboratory such as Interek. This will ensure that the heater’s performance is safe for use. Another thing to consider is portability.
There is a lot of trial and error involved in this as each grow room and heater are different. During this process, you will likely be moving your heater quite a bit, so it’s important to make sure this is easy to do. The final thing to consider is the size of your grow room. For small operations, small heaters will work just fine, but if the room is large, you’ll most likely have to invest in a larger heater. Larger grow rooms benefit from fan-forced heaters with good oscillation. This is to ensure that the entire room is heated evenly and that there are not any cold pockets.
Grow room heaters work best when the grow room is sealed from the outside air, which helps to prevent air circulation between the warm grow room and otherwise cold air outside. If there is no seal between the grow room and the outside, it could lead to your heater not working as efficiently as you’d prefer. Sealing your grow room entails having a door that remains closed all of the time.
To further seal the grow room, it helps to place a rolled-up towel or other draft stopper at the foot of your door. This will keep the air exchange between the grow room and the outside to a minimum and allow one to maintain a constant temperature within it. The general rule of thumb to keeping your cannabis plants happy is that if the room is comfortable for you, it is comfortable for your plants.