Plans to build a commercial 100 lights grow operation

[flipflop64]

Hey people, long time grower here, planning to start a commercial grow op.
First of all, i am not an english native so please excuse any grammatical/spelling mistakes.
As y'all probably already know, germany is about to legalize and i want to get in. i have an investor/partner and we are planning to build an approx. 100 lights grow operation.

I just have a couple questions where everybody seems to have different opinions on and its hard to ask somebody with the needed know how over here because its been illegal

soooo:

Sealed rooms or hybrid systems with filtered air from outside?
What is the go to hvac/ac in the industry?
One big ac unit for multiple rooms or a few smaller ones?
Is it cheaper/advised to get an full climate control system (dehumidifier and ac in one) or seperate units?

thanks in advance

 

[flipflop64]

no one?

 

[tobh]

Full disclosure: I have never operated at that scale, so this is purely conjecture.

- Sealed vs vented: this depends on a lot of other facts related to the grow in my opinion. If you can control every single other parameter in the grow, I'd do sealed. At this scale you will see marked increases in yield vs a vented setup.
- Cannot speak to HVAC/AC. Quest seems to be what all the big boys use for dehumidifiers, and they likely make ACs as well given dehumifiers are basically the same thing.
- Depends on how you configure the facility. I would do separate units per room personally so that each environment is independent, which offers you more overall control at the cost of increased complexity from additional moving parts and higher maintenance costs.
- Again, I would also do separate units. My thought here is multipurpose appliances tend to do everything they say they do OK, whereas dedicated units will do what they claim significantly more efficiently.

Again, keep in mind these thoughts are from someone that's never operated at a commercial scale so my thoughts may be way off base. Hope they help somewhat.

 

[Ponky]

Is there a framework for licensing? And will your government be corrupting the process?

For 100 your will want to break it up into. 5 to 10 separate spaces. If I was to describe a setup that is familiar (wink) it's a shipping can with its own AC and fuse panel. Running several lights. Depending on CO2 and temperature and available power. And you just put several side by side. And hide them from view. You want a fairly large panel for each.
100 1000 watt lights is a massive feed. So you'd need engineering approval. And they wouldn't allow containers. Chances are you're going to have to wait to see if you can even be allowed to draw over a 100 amps.

If I was approved I would do 4 separate buildings. 25 lights each. Bank of AC units for each one. Hard to say without knowing how much water and power you can pull.

 

[flipflop64]

Is there a framework for licensing? And will your government be corrupting the process?

For 100 your will want to break it up into. 5 to 10 separate spaces. If I was to describe a setup that is familiar (wink) it's a shipping can with its own AC and fuse panel. Running several lights. Depending on CO2 and temperature and available power. And you just put several side by side. And hide them from view. You want a fairly large panel for each.
100 1000 watt lights is a massive feed. So you'd need engineering approval. And they wouldn't allow containers. Chances are you're going to have to wait to see if you can even be allowed to draw over a 100 amps.

If I was approved I would do 4 separate buildings. 25 lights each. Bank of AC units for each one. Hard to say without knowing how much water and power you can pull.

Why so many different spaces? Because of different strains? My plans were 2 flower rooms, one veg room and one mother room

 

[Aqua Man]

My opinion only would be hybrid

more small units as this gives better distribution and if one fails it not the entire system so more reliable inthat aspect but at a cost.

A good climate control system is a must and your well beyond hobby so maybe grow link.

Separate dehuey and AC it smbeen a while since I looked but I believe they can only be run as one it the other at a time

 

[flipflop64]

Thanks for your answer @Aqua Man
I am still getting more opinions on the sealed vs. hybrid topic. I still have some time left before i can start building.
I really try to dig deep to find the best climate control system for me and i found a product called opticlimate which claims to cool, heat and dehumidify all in one. maybe thats an option. i'll def lookup growlink tho, thanks.

 

[Dirtbag]

I agree a hybrid system is the way to go. You really want to be able to both enrich the environment with Co2, and be able to vent the rooms if necessary for whatever reason, from a horticultural or even just a safety standpoint when working with Co2 enrichment.
Like was mentioned, you will need a lot of power to do that in one location which would require electrical engineering, If you have the potential for expansion down the road id go big on power. 480v would suit your needs but 600v 3 phase would be ideal if you plan to add another number of lights at some point. Always have at least 20% more power available than you think you'll ever need.

Having seperate rooms all fed from the same conditioning unit via controllable ducting is also a simple way to go, but in my opinion each room should also have its own split AC connected to a central conditioning unit, and dehumidifiers for lights on periods when you're enriching with Co2. All the rooms will likely be staggered at different stages of growth with different environmental requirement, so personally I'd condition each room individually during the lights on phase and also have a conditioned ventilation system that could be used during the lights off period, with the option to dump the air outside if necessary.
Id also design the building istelf to maintain a slight positive pressure to help keep pests out also, and have several levels of decontamination for employees before getting anywhere near the rooms. A decon lobby basically.

 

[flipflop64]

I'll def keep y'all updated in this thread.

 

[j1sonbrother]

Thanks for your answer @Aqua Man
I am still getting more opinions on the sealed vs. hybrid topic. I still have some time left before i can start building.
I really try to dig deep to find the best climate control system for me and i found a product called opticlimate which claims to cool, heat and dehumidify all in one. maybe thats an option. i'll def lookup growlink tho, thanks.

I am using Xiaomi smart home products to control the environment, which is simple, effective and cheap, and easy to build ur own climate system .

 

[Ponky]

Why so many different spaces? Because of different strains? My plans were 2 flower rooms, one veg room and one mother room

Because of bugs and disasters. And because of 400 amp panels. Just easier. Larger building cost a lot more.

 

[flipflop64]

So I would use something like this for the fresh air intake from the outside and supply it directly into the rooms (at night only). It should have the right humidity and temperature.
Sealed rooms for daytime/lights on with ac/dehumidifying/co2. Does it make more sense to have the fresh air pumped in the hallway and have the rooms sucking that air in passively or should i have active air flow directly into the rooms. When i pump the fresh air into the hallway i dont have positive pressure in the grow rooms and when i pump it in the growrooms i dont have positive pressure in the rest of the building right?
These things prob exist with build in dehu also right?

Return air should be replaced with fresh air.

 

[FuriousStyles]

You should look up medicropper on youtube. The guy is genius when it comes to what you need. You will get some great ideas and product knowledge. I couldn't find the video's I wanted of when he took over a facility and turned it around probably 4-5 years ago. The guy is next level. You can start here and see a ground up build.

 

[Ponky]

Honestly don't bother. If you don't have government connections you're not in line to make any profit. Government will just take and take. And crush you. If you don't have investors and a bunch of high up pals. It's over.

 

[flipflop64]

Honestly don't bother. If you don't have government connections you're not in line to make any profit. Government will just take and take. And crush you. If you don't have investors and a bunch of high up pals. It's over.

No negativity in this thread please.
Germany is not America and I also know some growers in America that make decent profit and dont have government connections. So idk where you get this from. I have a partner with enough money to get this going.

 

[flipflop64]

there arent really any commercial growers in this forum am i right? :(

 

[FuriousStyles]

there arent really any commercial growers in this forum am i right? :(

Please do not misconstrued this or get it twisted. There is plenty of commercial grower information on this site. Literally tons of it. What you are wanting is called a consultation and that my friend usually involves compensation to the one being consulted. What you are looking for is on this site you have to look for it if you want free answers.

 

[flipflop64]

Please do not misconstrued this or get it twisted. There is plenty of commercial grower information on this site. Literally tons of it. What you are wanting is called a consultation and that my friend usually involves compensation to the one being consulted. What you are looking for is on this site you have to look for it if you want free answers.

Thanks for your answers buddy. I asked some people but got a lot of misinformation. Like dehu + AC will cost me millions of dollars

 

[FuriousStyles]

Serious business check out the "save a grow" series from medicropper from a couple years ago. Reason being when he re-does the rooms he goes over all the ac and ventilation specs he used. I can not remember which episode but its there. Man drops serious knowledge in every episode.

 

[Pushrod Monkey]

Thanks for your answer @Aqua Man
I am still getting more opinions on the sealed vs. hybrid topic. I still have some time left before i can start building.
I really try to dig deep to find the best climate control system for me and i found a product called opticlimate which claims to cool, heat and dehumidify all in one. maybe thats an option. i'll def lookup growlink tho, thanks.

Seek the advice of engineers who specialize in climate control. You're talking serious money for startup and operation until something starts paying. Sealed environment? You'd better be prepared to spend some very serious money.