Many home plant growers are making the switch from outdoor gardens to grow tents. Grow tents offer a controlled environment to grow your plants but still, they can’t completely keep the necessary heat in. A common question many seem to ask is whether you should insulate a grow tent or not.
You should insulate your grow tent. Insulating it will give you control over the temperature and humidity levels, allowing for a completely-controlled environment. Keeping the heat in helps you cut back on electricity and energy costs. And lastly, insulation allows you to grow your plants privately, without nosey eyes or disturbing others.
Insulation isn’t the only thing you should be keeping in mind when it comes to your grow tent. There are other factors at play like ventilation and ideal temperature and humidity levels.
In this article, we will discuss all the reasons why you should insulate your grow tent. We’ll also go over different materials that are ideal for insulating a grow tent.
Do Grow Tents Keep Heat In?
Grow tents are indoor garden spaces you can set up and use in spaces inside your home where there are large fluctuations in temperature levels.
More and more home gardeners and plant growers are making the switch to using grow tents instead. After all, they make an excellent controlled growing environment.
From temperatures to humidity levels, a grow tent allows you to have easy full control over these factors. And having a controlled plant growing environment, you can be assured your plants will thrive and grow to their maximum capabilities.
Unfortunately, grow tents are unable to keep heat in. Grow tents are usually made up of very thin materials that do not offer insulation to keep the heat in.
Having a ventilation system in place, though necessary, can also contribute to further heat loss inside your grow tent. This plus the difference in temperature levels between the grow tent and the room it’s in could cause constant heat loss.
Maintaining heat and temperature levels inside your grow tent is necessary for maximum plant growth yields.
Should You Insulate A Grow Tent?
Many home plant growers are making the switch to using grow tents or grow rooms. But the question still remains, should you insulate your grow tent?
Below, we’ll list down and discuss all the reasons why you should:
- Temperature and humidity control
Plants grow to their maximum capabilities when they’re under proper temperature levels.
Generally, plants grow better in a warm environment with warm air. During winter seasons, it would be best to maintain a temperature level of 25°C to 35°C.
As the night approaches, the surrounding air also becomes colder. It’s important to not let the temperature go anywhere below the 20°C mark. This low-temperature level can cause a significant cut on the plant’s growth and development due to poor nutrients.
It could take weeks for a plant to recover from the side effects of such extremely low temperatures. The bad news is, some plants may never recover from it. This could mean all your hard work would be for nothing – and no one wants that.
Ideal humidity levels are also essential. Generally, an ideal humidity level range for most adult plants is 60% to 70%.
A plant’s ideal humidity level changes throughout its stages and life. If your plants are at their flowering stage, a humidity level range of 45% to 55% is ideal. For clones, 80% to 90% humidity levels should be maintained.
Another general rule to keep in mind is that plants with thicker leaves are able to tolerate lower humidity levels.
- Cut back on electricity bills
When you’re growing plants indoors, of course, you’re using electricity to power up your grow tent. You would need to use power and electricity for the ventilation system or to keep the lights on.
Proper grow tent insulation is very important, as we’ve well-established above. If you don’t insulate, there is a greater chance of heat transfer. If there is heat transfer, you would have to work harder to heat the insides of your grow tent trying to keep up and maintain ideal temperature levels.
Over time, electricity bills pile up thanks to regular power usage. Energy costs keep increasing and skyrocketing these days and well, no one is made of money.
If you don’t insulate your grow tent well, you might as well be throwing heating costs down the drain. Proper grow tent insulation will help you keep the heat in and cut down on your heating and energy costs.
Less power usage also means you’re reducing your carbon footprint. Using far less heating will lessen the emissions you contribute to the environment, keeping your carbon footprint to a minimum.
- Keep a controlled growing environment
One of the main reasons why many home plant growers switch to using grow tents is how it is a controlled environment as compared to an actual outdoor garden.
Outdoor gardens can fluctuate in environmental conditions – from temperature to humidity levels. But don’t be fooled though because even an indoor environment like a grow tent is still susceptible to these fluctuations. What sets grow tents apart from outdoor gardens is that you can easily control indoor conditions.
Both ventilation and insulation systems in your grow tent will help you take control of your plant’s growing environment. You can worry less about sudden drops or spikes in temperature and humidity levels. This will help you yield maximum growing results.
- Grow privately
Insulating your grow tent or grow room can also conveniently keep your planting hobby private from other people’s prying eyes. This is especially true if you’re growing weed indoors.
Grow room insulation, when done right, can mask the sight and smell of whatever you’re growing inside. It can also cover up the noise of whatever equipment you have running inside the grow tent. This prevents detection and will not disturb or annoy your neighbors, family members, or other occupants of the house.
Ideal Materials for Grow Tent Insulation
If you’re hoping to properly insulate your grow tent, there are various materials you can look into:
Foam board
Foam boards are cheap insulation material options, perfect for beginners who just aren’t ready to spend too much on insulation. Foam board insulation offers good enough thermal resistance and insulation to prevent further heat loss and transfer.
It can be made from either polystyrene, polyurethane, or polyisocyanurate. Foam boards can have varying lengths and widths, and can easily be cut into any shape you need them to be.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass is an insulation material made mainly out of glass. Its installation in grow tents provide a great way to trap heat and slow down heat transfer.
Like foam boards, fiberglass is relatively cheap. It’s also pretty easy to install yourself. One drawback though that seems to turn many people away is the mess it makes during the installation process.
Fiberglass fibers can be irritating on the skin and can even potentially harm your respiratory system. This is why proper protection gears are important when dealing with fiberglass.
Reflective foil
Reflective foil is an insulation material with a reflective face. The reflective face reflects up to 95% of heat from the heat source and light intensity inside the grow tent.
Not only does it prevent heat loss and transfer but it also bounces back the heat into different angles inside the grow tent. It can prevent heat loss and cold air infiltration during winter. At the same time, it can prevent too hot air from infiltrating the inside of the tent during the summer.
The material itself is extremely lightweight and fairly cheap and affordable.
How to Insulate a Grow Tent
To insulate your grow tent, you can either do it on the tent’s exteriors or interiors.
An exterior insulation system is fairly easy and straightforward to install for an easy DIY project. Of the materials we suggested above, foam boards and fiberglass are excellent options.
You can also insulate the insides of the grow tent. A reflective foil is the best option for this purpose. Just make sure there are no cracks for any of the light to escape out to. A sloppy installation will make the insulation less efficient and could skyrocket your energy costs instead.
Conclusion
Plants thrive best in controlled environments. Outdoor gardens don’t offer much of this control so many home growers choose to switch to using grow tents instead. One question commonly asked is whether you should insulate a grow tent or not.
The short answer is yes, you should insulate your grow tent. Doing so offers you four major benefits: temperature and humidity control, reduction in electricity bills, maintaining a controlled growing environment, and growing your plants privately.
If you’re in the market for a tent, check out our favorite grow tents and get growing!
