Can Your Cannabis Grow Op Be More Energy Efficient?

Learn several ways to make your cannabis grow op more energy efficient and how generators can help you achieve energy efficiency.

Why Is Energy Efficiency Important for Cannabis Grow Ops?

Grow rooms for cannabis require significant amounts of energy. Between grow lights, managed watering, and humidity and temperature controls, your grow room electric bills can quickly run up your operational costs. Energy efficiency is crucial to achieving better operational efficiency. You’ll cut costs and boost your profit when your grow op operates efficiently.

The money you’ll save on energy is added to your profit, which can be used in other ways to grow your operation. Reducing energy bills and creating an energy-efficient grow room promotes long-term growth and operational success. Over time, energy efficiency stabilizes your expenses and improves your operation’s future viability.

Prioritizing energy efficiency also improves your overall sustainability as a business. Energy production and usage greatly impact the planet, contributing to land, water and air pollution. Using less energy also means reducing the fuel needed to generate electricity, which often produces harmful air pollution, like greenhouse gases. Improving your energy efficiency is an effective way to reduce your environmental footprint.

Tips for Running an Energy-Efficient Cannabis Grow Op

You’ll be better equipped to operate more efficiently with a few improvements and investments. Consider these tips for becoming an energy-efficient cannabis facility.

Measure and Record Energy Usage

Measuring and recording your energy usage helps you determine where you’re using significant energy to adjust to lower your usage in those areas. Measure your baseline usage and consider how much is allotted to lighting, HVAC and environmental controls. Energy use records allow you to track energy usage to identify trends and variations, giving you more control over usage.

Invest in Energy-Efficient Systems

If your equipment is inefficient, decreasing energy usage will be more difficult. Investing in efficient equipment makes a significant difference in your energy costs. For example, LED lights generate less heat, require less energy and last significantly longer than other bulbs. Your exhaust fans should have efficient motors — look for a large fan with a low-watt motor so you still get the necessary power. Additionally, choose dehumidifiers and cool systems that are properly sized, allowing them to work more efficiently in your space.

Improve Grow Room Sealing and Insulation

Proper sealing and insulation prevent your HVAC system from overworking and using additional energy. For example, if your HVAC system is cooling the facility and cool air is escaping, the system has to work harder to compensate. Ensure your facility’s vents, windows, doors and piping are effectively insulated and sealed to prevent unwanted heating and cooling.

Invest in Automation

Automating various parts of your growing process can also save energy. Automation software and technology allow you to set timers and monitor growing conditions. For example, you may put your lights on a timer so they shut off after several hours rather than accidentally being left on. An automatic watering system controls how much water your plants receive and how often.

Benefits of Commercial Generators for Marijuana Facilities

As you upgrade and improve your marijuana facility, consider the benefits of commercial generators. Generators for marijuana facilities help you achieve greater energy efficiency and productivity. Since your grow room electricity needs are high, you may find that the standard on-grid power isn’t always reliable.

For example, on-grid power may not sufficiently power your grow op consistently. You may experience electricity fluctuations that cause your equipment to run inefficiently. The power grid also experiences power outages, causing disruptions and requiring significant time and energy to recover from downtime.

A grow room generator is a backup power supply to support cannabis production in these situations. If your main power supply fails, your generator provides supplemental power, maintaining growing conditions while the power is out. The ability to maintain consistent growing conditions is a significant benefit. If you lose power and your equipment completely shuts down, it will require large amounts of energy to restart everything when the power comes back on. With a generator, production remains at optimal capacity to maintain productivity and prevent excessive energy usage.

Using generators for cannabis grow ops also allows you to create a fail-proof power system through generator paralleling. This setup involves relying on multiple generators working together to power your operation. Multiple generators piggybacking off each other create a fail-proof power system if one generator malfunctions during mission-critical operations.

For example, one generator provides a backup to your main power source, but if that single generator malfunctions, you’ll be completely without power. Depending on how long the outage lasts, you may lose some or all of your marijuana plants. Losing plants would mean all the energy and resources used to grow them were wasted. With a parallel system, you have backups for your backup generator to prevent this situation.

If a generator in a parallel system fails, you’ll experience a power reduction, but you won’t lose power completely. Paralleled generators for marijuana plants are one of the most beneficial setups to prevent downtime and excessive energy consumption. The fail-proof system ensures your facility maintains energy efficiency during and after a power outage or supply failure.

Energy-Efficient Commercial Generators for Grow Rooms

When selecting a commercial generator for your grow op, choose the most energy-efficient option. Commercial generators run on various fuel types, though natural gas generators are generally best for marijuana grow rooms. Natural gas generators are considerably more efficient, cleaner and less expensive than other fuels.

Diesel is another common option for commercial generators, though it’s typically not recommended for grow rooms focused on improving energy efficiency. Because natural gas produces fewer emissions and is the most efficient, these generators are typically preferred. You should also carefully consider generator size to ensure it can provide adequate power for your entire operation. Consulting with a professional ensures you find a proper fit.

Improve Cannabis Yield and Efficiency With Woodstock Power

The right generator for cannabis grow facilities is essential to improving your operation’s efficiency. At Woodstock Power Company, we understand your industry’s need for efficient generators and can guide you through finding and installing the right generator for your grow op. Our wide selection of used generators is thoroughly tested and inspected to ensure quality, allowing you to improve your grow op efficiency within your budget.

Shop our used generator inventory, and contact us online or call our team at 610-658-3242 for more information.