How to Choose the Right Size Air Conditioner for Grow Tent or Grow Room

We’re here to help you choose the best air conditioner for grow tent or grow room to perfect the right temperature and humidity level for your indoor grow room.

Here’s how to determine the right size for your setup and 5 of the best air conditioners for grow tent or grow room.

Multiple factors can affect the temperature in your grow room and your grow lights are mostly what’s to blame when it comes to excessive heat.

As an indoor grower, it’s important that you control the heat intensity in your grow space if you don’t want to end up with crops or plants with unappealing quality.

Definitely, an air conditioning unit is a big help when it comes to keeping the optimum climate in your grow room.

Having one can help ensure that you end up with healthy and thriving plants. While it’s easy to purchase an AC unit, it’s not really the case for choosing the right grow room ac.

To avoid mistakes when it comes to choosing an air conditioning unit for your grow room, in this post, I’ll answer your questions and tell you all that you need to know about how to size an AC and also help you decide which AC is best for you and your plants.

…….Better not go anywhere and keep on reading!

The Best Air Conditioning Unit For Your Grow Room Or Grow Tent

If you’re just starting out, I highly recommend getting the Whynter ARC-145 portable air conditioner which is the best grow room air conditioner unit as of today.

I didn’t really have a big space when I was starting, but this AC claims to be able to cool up to 500 square feet area. What I really like is that it also functions as a dehumidifier and fan.

Now that you have an idea of what AC you should get with regard to the type and BTU size, I still won’t leave you hanging as here are my reviews on the grow room air conditioners that I find best in the market.

Whether you have a small or large-scale grow room or grow tent, I got you covered. I will list air conditioners depending on their types.

Mini/Portable Air Conditioners

This is only ideal for growers with small-scale grow spaces, like a tent or container. Mini/Portable air conditioners are easy to move around and they can also be ideal for home use.

Best Air Conditioners For Grow Room – Reviews & Buying guide for 2024

• Midea 12000 BTU Easycool AC
• Whynter ARC-14S With Activated Carbon Filter
• BLACK+DECKER Portable Air Conditioner
• Pioneer WYS012-17 Ductless Inverter Air Conditioner
• Frigidaire FFRA0511R1E 5, 000 BTU 115V

1. Overall Best Grow Room Air Conditioner: Midea 12000 BTU Easycool

Features

8000 – 14000 BTU

• Dehumidifier and Fan Function
• LED Remote Control

This portable grow room AC from Midea is good for grow spaces that are up to 350 square feet.

It comes in four BTUs: 8000, 10000, 12000, and 14000. The unit has wheels to make it easy for you to have it moved when needed.

This comes with a timer and a sleep mode that you can adjust. The sleep mode lets the unit adjust the temperature throughout the night when needed.

Like most air conditioners, the filter is also reusable, but what’s good is that it has a light indicator if it’s time for you to have it changed.

The power cord it comes with is 75 inches long, making it easier to move without having to change sockets. When it comes to the noise level, it won’t exceed 55.5 dB, so you don’t really have to worry about it being noisy.

This only doesn’t just function as an AC. It can also serve as a dehumidifier and a fan. I find it cool that you can use the dehumidifier feature while it is functioning as an AC. It comes with an LED remote control and works with 115V,1Ph,60Hz power supply.

2. Best Portable Air Conditioner For Grow Tent: Whynter ARC-14S With Activated Carbon Filter

Features

• Dual Hose
• Activated Carbon Filter
• Dehumidifier and fan functions
• 24-Hour Programmable Timer

The Whynter ARC-145 is UL-listed and can cool up to 500 square feet of grow space. It is eco-friendly and lead-free.

What’s good is that it comes with a carbon filter to ensure that it will only release clean and green air. Its exterior is platinum and black, making it stylish.

This portable grow tent ac unit can also function as a dehumidifier and fan with three speeds. Its dehumidifying capacity is 101 pints a day, and its hose is extendable for up to 60 inches.

It has leakage-current detection and interruption plug, so you won’t have to worry about it leaking if in case you can’t drain the water right away.

This can run on a 115 V / 60 Hz / 1 Phase power supply and has 14000 BTU cooling capability. When it comes to noise, like most brands, it wouldn’t exceed 56 Db.

This weighs about 80 lbs., but it wouldn’t really be hard to move because it’s on wheels.

3. Best For 5×5 Grow Tent: BLACK+DECKER Portable Air Conditioner

Features

• Auto Evaporation System
• Timer
• Fan and Dehumidifier Functions

BLACK+DECKER is a popular brand when it comes to different appliances and tools and their air conditioner is something they also manufacture.

The BLACK+DECKER BPACT14WT is one of the quietest grow room air conditioners, which is great for new growers who are also looking for quality.  If you’re looking for the best AC for a grow tent, this could be it!

This portable grow room AC unit can cool up to 200 square feet of area, so this is nice to use for a 5×5 grow tent.

This can also function as a fan with two speeds and a dehumidifier with 1.8 pints per hour capacity. Its BTU is 8000 and the cool air discharge is directed upward.

It also has wheels and the handles on both of its sides make this unit easy to carry around. The noise it produces does not exceed 53 dB, and in the quiet mode, it is at 51 dB – this is pretty quiet. This can run on 115V / 60Hz and weighs about 69 pounds.

4. Best Mini Split AC For Grow Room: Pioneer WYS012-17 Ductless Inverter Air Conditioner

Mini Splits are usually ductless, making this type of air conditioner easy to install and manage. It usually comes with two components and is energy-efficient.

This is common in medium to large grow rooms. Some even use this in their homes as this is usually quiet and easy to install.

Features

• Sleep Mode
• Refrigerant Leakage Detection
• Two-Way Draining

The Pioneer WYS012-17 Air Conditioner Inverter is available in different efficiency ratings (from 9000 BTU up to 36000 BTU).

This is a ductless mini-split inverter, which makes it energy-efficient.

This comes with a ductless indoor section, making this inverter easy on the eyes.

This can cool 350-450 square feet of area and can only produce 57 dB of sounds, so it’s still quiet, considering its capabilities. When the sleep mode is on, it decreases heating 1 degree Celsius for the first two hours.

This also has leakage detection. It means that this unit will automatically stop if it detects refrigerant leakage. For the power supply, it can run on 208-230 V/ 60 Hz / 1 Ph. It can also dehumidify and are fairly easy to install.

5. Window AC For Large Grow Room: Frigidaire FFRA0511R1E 5, 000 BTU 115V

This window unit is good for small to medium grow rooms. Obviously, this won’t really work well with a grow tent, unless your tent is against a wall and has a hole that can fit a window-mounted AC.

This is available in different sizes as well and you won’t really need professional help to have this installed if you have basic technical knowledge.

Feature

• 2 Air-Way Direction
• 2 Fan Speeds
• Low Power Start-up

This grow room ac unit from Frigidaire has 5000 BTU so this could also work well with small to medium grow room.

It has two rotary controls: temperature and modes, which are both common on this type of air conditioner.

This can cool a room that is up to 150 square feet and its dehumidification feature are up to 1.1 pints per hour. The noise it produces is only up to 51. 3 dB so it’s something I don’t really find bothersome.

This only has two fan speeds and only weighs about 41 pounds. Its filter is anti-bacterial and easy to clean. However, this doesn’t have any filter change indicator so make sure that you establish a routine on when to change its filter.

What’s The Best Grow Room Temperature And Humidity Level?

You need to have complete control of basically everything in your grow room in order to grow plants or crops that are healthy.

It’s very important that you have control of the climate in your grow room and having a good air conditioning unit is a great way to start doing this.

Some plants require a cool room to be able to thrive and an air conditioning unit is better than just having an oscillating fan. This is especially if you are in an area where it’s usually hot or humid.

I did mention that different plants require different temperatures to thrive and so you also need to know what your plants really need.

However, as a general rule, it’s best to never keep the temperature of your grow room around 60 degrees to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above or below this may already be harmful to a plant.

Controlling the temperature in your grow room will allow photosynthesis and transpiration to happen. You may find it odd that plants can actually perspire, but they do!

Transpiration is essential to keeping them healthy, just like how it is for us humans!

How Does This Affect The Growth Of Plants?

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Another thing I’d like you to know is how important temperature is when it comes to photosynthesis.

Most may think that photosynthesis only concerns the amount of light that plants receive, but your soil’s PH and your room’s temperature also make this process efficient.

Without an AC, your grow room has the tendency to work with high temperatures and this won’t really do anything good for your plants.

The photosynthesis rate in an area with a high temperature isn’t efficient as it will decrease.

The protein molecules in your plants that are called enzymes won’t be efficient enough to carry out biochemical reactions in order to go through proper photosynthesis. Your plants basically won’t be able to produce the food that they need.

Cold Grow Room?

While I emphasized that high temperature in a grow room won’t really do your plants well, keep in mind that even having a low temperature can also do no good to your plants.

Low temperature can also disable the enzymes in your plants to efficiently work and it will not let your plants produce enough glucose or energy for them to survive. This will just result in the stunted growth of your plants.

In order to avoid these things from happening, you need to get the right air conditioning unit for your grow room, and trust me when I say that going for the expensive ones that claim to work on indoor growing well isn’t really the easiest way to go.

What Size Air Conditioner Do I Need For My Grow Room?

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No matter what kind of air conditioning unit that you’d like to get for your grow room, it won’t work if it doesn’t suit your indoor garden setup.

Air conditioners are rated by BTU or the British Thermal Units. It is used to measure the thermal or heat energy and for air conditioners, this is the amount of heat that they are capable of removing.

The most common BTUs that air conditioning units have would be 5000, 12,000, 18,000, and 24,000.

Even knowing what BTU is, you probably are wondering how you would know what BTU you will need your air conditioner to have to make it right for your setup.

A general rule of thumb is that for every 1 watt of HPS light, the end-user will need 4 BTUs of cooling power.

So The formula is (4 BTU’s) X (total watts of grow room equipment) = total BTU’s of AC you need. So if you running 6000 Watt (HPS light 3500W, co2 burner 1000W dehumidifier 1500W) will need a minimum of 24,000 BTU’s or 2 ton AC unit.

You just need to consider the other devices that you have in your grow tent and grow room that could generate heat like your grow lights, dehumidifiers, and CO2 burners. The size of the room and your area are other factors to be considered.

Without ballasts, the standard or closest estimate of BTUs in 1000 watts would be 4000 BTUs. With ballasts, there would be an additional 2000 BTU, thus 1000 watts is around 6000 BTUs.

Here is a sample computation to let you know How many BTU do you need for your grow room?

Grow Room Equipment That Consumes Power And Produces Heat

• Grow Lights: 3500 watts
• CO2 Burner: 1000 watts
• Dehumidifier: 1500 watts

Calculation

• 3500 + 1000 + 1500 = 6000 watts
• 6000 watts x 4 = 24000 BTUs

Take note that the 24,000 BTUs is only the minimum that your air conditioner should have. Another tip I could give you is that if you do need the same amount of BTU for your air conditioning, split it and get two air conditioning units.

And so, for a 24,000 BTU, I’d get two air conditioning units with 12,000 BTU each.

This is just to make sure that I get to spread the cool air in my grow room equally and that if in case one of them gets damaged or broken, the other could still work and try to do the job. It’s better than completely not having any units for cooling.

Types Of Air Conditioners For Grow Tent Or Grow Room

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Before buying an air conditioner for your grow tent or grow room, you need to know that you will have to choose from different varieties and it will mostly depend on what would be convenient for you and what your grow room set up is like.

Here, I’ll let you know of the different types of air conditioners that you may choose from.

Portable Air Conditioners

If you have a grow tent, then this could be what’s best for you. This type of air conditioner isn’t too heavy and bulky. It’s compact and easy to move around.

This is very ideal for beginners with a small indoor grow room or tent as this doesn’t require any technical skills to install and operate.

There are two kinds of portable ac for grow room. These are basically the ones with one and two tubings. For grow spaces, it’s best to get the one with two tubes as it doesn’t return the exhausting heat in your grow room.

Bear in mind that this is not something you should get if you have a big grow space.

Window-Mounted Air Conditioners

This is a bit more complicated than portable air conditioners as it needs to be installed. I find this as one of the most common types of air conditioners. This the AC that goes through your wall or a window with half of its body exposed.

This is ideal to use in small to medium-sized grow rooms. It can be powerful enough to make a room really cold and this usually has a fan function and timer.

Mini Split Air Conditioners

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This type of air conditioner has two main components and is usually ductless.

One of the two components is usually the rectangular AC you see mounted on a wall and the other is what’s connected to it and is placed outside that expels the heat and moisture build-up during the cooling process.

As for assembling this type of air conditioner, it may require a few technical skills. This ideal for larger grow rooms and because of its components, it will be hard to keep on moving this around.

I suggest that you only get this if your grow room isn’t portable.

You can always ask for technicians to have this installed or even someone from where you purchased the unit if in case you don’t know how to have this properly installed.

Ceiling Mount Air Conditioners

This is somewhat similar to a mini-split air conditioner. The only difference is that the component that gives the coolness in the room is mounted on the ceiling.

Like a typical mini-split, this will most definitely need some technical skills when it comes to installation.

This could also be heavy so keep it in mind. The main reason why growers would use this is if they want to save some grow space.

Commercial Grade Air Conditioning Units

This type of air conditioning unit is designed for large-scale buildings and even indoor gardens or greenhouses, so if you don’t have one yourself this really something that you shouldn’t get.

This is big in size and is usually mounted on top of a room or building.

This is usually installed by a professional and usually can only be used by a place of buildings that can accommodate a commercial-grade air conditioner.

How To Set Up Your Air Conditioning Unit In Your Grow Room

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Setting up an air conditioning unit will really depend on the type that you have. For portable mini air conditioners, some of these work as it is and doesn’t require installation.

However, for portable ACs that are wall or window-mounted, you just really need a few tools to have them rightfully installed.

Ductless systems are easier to install, you just need to find a passage for its tubing and a few tools to have the indoor component installed. Most of the outdoor components of this type of AC can simply sit on the ground.

Usually, it’s the bigger ACs that will require professional help to have them installed.

However, for a lot of commercial-grade air conditioners, it is required that the room is specifically constructed to accommodate it. The same goes for some ceiling-mounted ACs.

The general rule or guideline I’d suggest that you follow is to install your AC near a power source. Try to avoid using power sockets or power strips as those may cause power overload or damage to the unit itself.

Lastly, since installation widely differs for each unit, always make sure that you check the manual it comes with. It may sound tedious, but I learned that reading these manuals can also help maximize a unit’s efficiency.

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FAQ

Conclusion

I hope you learned a lot from this and you now have an idea of what air conditioning unit you should get for your grow room.

Other things you can consider when getting an air conditioning unit is, of course, your budget.

It will help you growing unconventional crops such as mushrooms or any other type of indoor plant.

It would also help if you read reviews and do research about the ACs you are considering buying if what you are eyeing isn’t on my list.

Another benefit of having an air conditioning unit in your grow room is that can help prevent a spider mite infestation. Spider mites like warm and damp environments. By having an air conditioner you can both lower the temperature and humidity levels.

Before getting an AC, make sure you know how much heat you have in your grow room and make sure that you understand how BTUs really work. I hope you enjoyed reading this and have fun shopping for an air conditioner!