Wont Blowing that cold of air through affect the operating temperature of the bulb?
ya, there is no need to blow cold air from outside directly through your hoods. What i was stating earlier, was that you can vent old air from your room, through your hoods and out your room. Then I used the hot air to warm my cold downstairs and it worked perfect. The only cold air i brought into my environment, was from my vent to supply fresh air to my room. which was met by an oscillating fan to spread the fresh air throughout my canopy. I also realized that direct cold air to plants can turn some strains more purple, and for some crazy reason, colorful bud seems to go for more money! I guess some people just judge the book by its cover ha! (I do not suggest the cold air on plants because it slows down photosynthesis and can produce a smaller yield)
Ive seen people use air cooled hoods by running ducting from an outside vent, through their hoods, then outside just to lower temps and keep their rooms air sealed. This way it didnt mess with their Co2 ppms and it relieved the work of their A/C. If one was to use this method, I highly recommend a filter being placed on the intake vent because bringing "dirty" (non filtered) air through your hoods only makes the bulbs dirty. Doesnt makes sense to spend 500$ on a nice hood, bulb, and ballast and then limit your lumen output do to dirty bulbs. Also find a way to make sure that the air being pulled through your hoods isnt cold, COLD AIR WILL DAMAGE YOUR BULBS, not to mention condensation build up. a way of doing so, is having excess ducting so the air can be warmed in the ducting from the radiant heat in the room. There are other ways also; use air from an inside location, wrap ducting in with a heating pad or three, or even have the air cooled hoods in a continuous cycle so air simply recirculates (this method lowers the direct heat from plants but still produces heat through the room) I would also use insulated ducting, but thats just me.
