But the way IR is absorbed by, (and thus the degree to which it heats) biomass changes the variables greatly. The ability to cool more easily with less extraction due to the way the heat is radiated, combined with the ability to run the room warmer due to a much smaller temperature variance between ambient and canopy means that I actually use less real world energy to maintain my grow.
Yes Sir - biomass, GPW - is our main interest hanging around here on riu.
Driving an efficient 350w lamp over a closed sea of green or scrog can produce a lot of biomass
every day on a squaremeter - specially in days when a plant reaches the full size.
In one year you can have 3 grows with 9 plants / ~15h per day and a total cosume of 1900KWh of electricity. 27 plants - i would guess 3-6kg of dry roots, stems, leaves and ! buds ! or even more in an optimized and succesfull grow room.
I do it with 1500KWh as i use different, small lamp sizes to start seedling and vegging but still big amounts of light get lost to the wall, soil or even ceiling and get converted to heat.
To estimate the chemical energy stored in the biomass take1 kg of dry wood, that can reach up to 8 KWh calorific value ---> ~50KWh in biomass.
As a plant (like you and me) has a metabolism, it needs energy to maintain her life.
Like you she needs energy during her whole life: to sleep, to eat, hauling water from the basement, to shit, to breath and even to have sex.
Even if i suspect they maintain their metabolism much more efficient as we animals can do -
it`s hard to calculate, because part of their energy comes from the root in form of nutrients.
But then, if we estimate that from 1500KWh of electricity a led70%-hid80% is converted to heat we spend only ~ 375KWh in light of which a big part never reaches the plant and get converted to heat elsewhere. So 50KWh of calories is a significant part and @ the end all we have to care about, if we talk about efficiency.
I don`t want to show it again and again - (because some people may think i`m a neurotic
anti-catholic) -
but a waterfilled condom or a latex ballon is just perfect to measure the heat production of
your favorite led chips @ efficient low currents.
that`s all you need + digital level to weigh the water inside the ballon.
luckily it is cheaper to heat the room than cool it.
uouppps - i see it the other way round.
i`m a watercooler for several reasons:
my lamp builds are made to harvest weed & heat
light heat cogeneration is 3 times more energy efficient as any aircooled led
due to the 75% of heat production of led chips.
It is possible to use the lamp as a radiator during the winter nights
and a watercooled heatmanagement is just ways smarter as an aircooled led, car, pv-panel, ...etc.
i need only10,- $ for aluminium square tube to mount a 300-1200W lamp system.
pumps & hoses 15,-$ and the most expensive part for my system was to buy a brandnew waterboiler 80L with integr. heatexchanger 180,-$.
My chips run @ Tj = 15-35°C and i prepare ~ 30000L of hot servicewater during the year with my 350W watercooled led lamp. Enough for the 2 persons in my apartment.
I normally pay ~300,-$ for the hot water bill at the end of the year.
Now i use them to pay big part of the extra electricity for my grow led light (~500,-$)
No need to discuss KW of heat vs KW of light - its all mine.
You all can keep on debate about efficiency of lamp builds, chips -
as long as you don`t get convinced to harvest the heat
- you are wandering around in the cellar.
