A lot can go wrong with your crop, but did you know some of it can be caused by your grow room insulation?

Growing marijuana can be a fickle endeavor because the environment needs to be just right. The insulation in the space you decide to grow, whether it’s your basement or a pole barn, needs to be able to help create the atmosphere needed to start and maintain a healthy crop.

In 2018, Michigan became the tenth state to legalize recreational marijuana. In that time, we have been helping more and more business owners get their grow rooms exactly how they need them with the help of spray foam insulation. 

With this experience we understand the grow room insulation problems that plague those trying to cultivate marijuana.

5 Grow Room Insulation Problems

Marijuana is a fickle plant and it needs a very specific environment to grow in.

Choosing an insulation material that can’t help create that environment can lead to some serious issues. Here are some of the grow room insulation problems that can pop up.

• Your insulation is retaining moisture. Growing marijuana requires a specific amount of humidity. With that humidity comes moisture, and if you have fiberglass or cellulose in your grow room, it is retaining that moisture. This can lead to the growth of mold and mildew.
  Solution: Choose an insulation material, like foam, that doesn’t retain that moisture created by the humidity.
  
  
• It’s difficult to maintain a constant temperature in your grow room. Creating and maintaining a constant temperature in a grow room is vital for the crop’s success. If there is any kind of air leakage into the room or structure, it can be detrimental to the plants. This can happen if an insulation material is used that doesn’t block air movement. This can also happen if you don’t completely air seal the entire envelope of the building or room.
  Solution: When putting together your grow room, it’s recommended to use a material that creates an air seal. This will keep the air you’re trying to keep inside and the outdoor elements out.
  
  
• You’re having difficulty maintaining specific humidity ranges. Usually, humidity is something you try to avoid in your home or pole barn, but in this case, there is a very specific number you’re trying to hit in your grow room. If the insulation in there retains moisture, the humidity will be too high or if it allows for air leakage, you won’t be able to hit that specific humidity range.
  Solution: Closed cell spray foam is a great fit for a grow room with exposed walls as it will help control both the temperature and humidity. In this instance, the closed cell spray foam will make the room the airtight, conditioned space you need to grow the marijuana in.
  
  
• You’re having issues with odor containment. Are you finding that your grow room smell is pretty potent? This can be a problem, especially if it’s located inside your home. If air can move through the insulation, then the smell can too.
  Solution: Again, the air seal comes to the rescue. If you want to minimize the odors coming from your grow room, creating an air seal can accomplish this.
  
  
• Inadequate insulation can cause your HVAC to work overtime. With all that we’ve mentioned so far about temperature and humidity, not being able to maintain them will cause your HVAC to run constantly. Not only will this cost you more money, but it can also cause damage to the HVAC system.
  Solution: Choose an insulation material that works to keep the temperature and humidity right where you want it. This will give your HVAC system a break so it doesn’t get damaged and saves you money.

Best Insulation for Grow Rooms

When it comes down to it, you have to make the decision about what insulation will work best for your grow room.

With that being said, Marijuana Venture recommends insulating the envelope of the room or building with closed cell spray foam. This is because it creates an air seal and doesn’t retain moisture. This is also true of open cell foam.

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of foam insulation, check out the Learning Center on our website. 

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