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Energy Crisis

  • #21
I am not sure how big of an area you need to cool. If it's not too large you could use some frozen gallons of water with fans blowing across them. Good insulation would help. Another thing i tried was to place a small indoor greenhouse i had directly over an a/c vent. Use what you have. Some of them might even be able to go in the fridge at night. You would need to have them bagged i would imagine d/t low humidity in there. Maybe even finding a old cheap fridge just for the plants.
 
  • #22
Another crazy idea I came upon recently was where some guy buried about 50 feet of pipe which he used to cool his greenhouse. As the air was sucked through the pipe the soil cooled it enough so it wasn't hot air like outside but cool air about as cold as the soil. I think you'll have to talk to an expert about this one since not many people use the method. I've heard it's been done with some houses in the UK.
 
  • #23
Along the geothermal lines, a house I used to have had a cistern (underground water reservoir sometimes incorrectly called a well), and I circulated water from that through a radiator in the house making my own cooling unit. Worked great. If you have a cistern or pond, it might be worth a try. You still consume energy with the water pump and fan, but not as much as with the ac unit. Just a thought.
 
  • #24
Like Lance said, could be the lights. If the lights are too much to run, then this whole CP addiction has to come to an end.

hmmm..I have been happily addicted to CP's for nearly 20 years, and haven't spent a penny for light, heating or cooling in all that time! ;)

Scot
 
  • #26
Hey Mass, sorry to hear of this. I feel for ya though, as I am in the same boat....my bills are closer to $400.00 this time of year.
As mentioned "night lights" are very popular with OGF'rs. Call your power company and ask if they offer reduced rates at night, also ask if they offer discounts for the disabled. Some companies do. If so, this would help at all hours of the day/night.

Hey Larry, how're we holding up?
What's an OGF'er?
No discounts, we've already asked.

But again, that might all be irrelevant to you if you don't have/use central AC...

We do have central air.. and I'll do a few experiments with your ideas. :bigthumpup:

Outside. It's easier to heat something than it is to cool it and you're looking at free lighting during the half the year. In the winter months you can supplement with artificial lighting and/or move your most valuable and demanding plants inside for the winter where cooling becomes free also.

Not sure my HL/UHL collection would fair well in this 100*F heat.

hmmm..I have been happily addicted to CP's for nearly 20 years, and haven't spent a penny for light, heating or cooling in all that time! ;)

Scot

My collection is a bit more demanding than yours.
We do grow some of the same stuff, but my beginner's plants are already outside.
You shouldn't be proud of being stuck at that level for 20 years.

@Gill & Rocket: This is where you lost my interest:

"So, my guesstimate is $527.15 out-of-pocket."
 
  • #28
You shouldn't be proud of being stuck at that level for 20 years.

You shouldn't be proud for wasting energy and thousands of dollars needlessly..

Scot
 
  • #29
send them here for summer camp it might hit 70f today if where lucky
 
  • #30
My collection is a bit more demanding than yours.
We do grow some of the same stuff, but my beginner's plants are already outside.
You shouldn't be proud of being stuck at that level for 20 years.

My point was..you can have a very nice CP collection without having to spend a dime on heating, light or cooling..
if you choose to spend money on heating, light or cooling..thats fine..but its not accurate to say you will have to give up the hobby completely..

And I love the deliberate use of "beginner plants" and the condescending attitude of "being stuck at that level"
that's nice...jerk.
translation: "My collection is SO superior to yours! Im an advanced CP grower, you are a simpleton"..
Meanwhile, im not the one complaining because I cant afford my "advanced" collection..
I deliberately choose plants that cost me nothing for light, heating or cooling..
who's the smart one now? ;)

Scot
 
  • #31
My point was..you can have a very nice CP collection without having to spend a dime on heating, light or cooling..
if you choose to spend money on heating, light or cooling..thats fine..but its not accurate to say you will have to give up the hobby completely..

And I love the deliberate use of "beginner plants"..that's nice...jerk.
translation: "My collection is SO superior to yours! Im an advanced CP grower, you are a simpleton"..

Scot

I'm glad you can read between the lines. At least the comment didn't go to waste.
And needlessly?
Tell that to N. villosa, N. macrophylla, N. lowii, N. x TM, and a handful of tuberous & S. American dews.
Oh wait, you've probably never seen those before. SO...
From all of us high-end indoor growers, you sir.. are a moron.

Did you really come here, to my thread, trying to pick a fight?
If not, save your snide comments for someone more passive.
 
  • #32
Thanks for proving me right..
No, I didnt come here to pick a fight..I only meant to make one comment about how its very possible to enjoy this hobby
without needing to spend tons of money on energy..
you said

"Like Lance said, could be the lights. If the lights are too much to run, then this whole CP addiction has to come to an end."

I thought "come to an END? seriously?" so I said:
"hmmm..I have been happily addicted to CP's for nearly 20 years, and haven't spent a penny for light, heating or cooling in all that time! ;)

you then made the decision to be a **** about it..
end of story.

Scot
 
  • #33
Well then, let me add a chapter to your prematurely ended story..

I don't care about common run of the mill CP's. They don't turn my crank, so to speak.
I'm in love with the more "high-end" aspect of the hobby.
So, if I can't meet their needs and grow them happily, then I won't grow them at all.
Thus, bringing my CP addiction to an end.
Unlike you, I don't see the beauty in the basics. Everyone knows I hate N. ventricosa and S. minor.
Call me shallow..

Why are we even having this conversation?
What does any of this have to do with MY collection, and their specific needs?

And for the record, I'm not here complaining. I'm here asking for advice and tips on growing MY collection in a more cost efficient manner.
 
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  • #34
Way to go dude, kick someone when they are down...but thanx for the heads up on your character.

hmmm..I have been happily addicted to CP's for nearly 20 years, and haven't spent a penny for light, heating or cooling in all that time! ;)

Scot
 
  • #35
Scot,

I'm a noob here, and the info you posted was a lot of times helpful (like your site for example gave me the foundation for my own dormancy setup). Saying this I want to tell you that I do respect your expertise and knowledge! However, perhaps if you revisit some of your posts you will see that they are not always "smooth" so to speak :) Internet is not good at convening emotions thus it is always good to give posts a benefit of a doubt, but still...
 
  • #36
~with the intent to completely change the subject~

Mach & Kyle:
The house AC only get's down to mid 70*s during the day.
With the lights and everything out during the day, (artificial night) temps aren't getting low enough.
So even switching to having everything off in the day, or not using the AC to lower the temps at night.. both scenario's only turn it into a perfect LL setup.
Just not enough to cool it into the 60*s without AC.

Something Chezilla said stuck with me..

I am not sure how big of an area you need to cool.

I have cut the collection in half, so the space doesn't need to be as large anymore.
Thinking I could downsize the grow space a bit.
This is the time when Michael's setup popped into my head. Put one of those together, and move the GH outside for the other stuff.
Wonder if a smaller setup would cause smaller bills.
duh.. real brain buster.
 
  • #37
indeed. many of the plants you were playing around with were more intermediate-HL than ultra HL. Might be able to put all the ones that want super cool conditions in a smaller space or something that might be able to be cooled with less power.

Guessing form the pics of the house that I remembered you had a post home on a slab or post and pier foundation and no cellar/basement?

wonder if you could trench a pipline into your yard deep enough that the soil temp will be significantly lower and have it circulated and or pumped into the house/greenhouse to a radiator with fan. I seem to remember some one doing something similar in florida to grow corals in a outdoor greenhouse to prevent them from overheating.
 
  • #38
If you want to get the benefits of utilizing your central AC during the day, when the lights are on (like I do), you need to route the air STRAIGHT from one of your house's vents into the GH. That way, when the AC kicks on, it blows straight into the GH, and that air is downright cold. Again, though, it's getting into the triple digits here, so I am probably running the AC more than you during the day. Could always make a super ghetto air conditioner like I did back in the day...

37330_113184978727567_5599699_n.jpg


Pump ice water through the copper tubing.
 
  • #39
Way to go dude, kick someone when they are down...but thanx for the heads up on your character.

There was no kick..
simply a comment on an alternate way to enjoy the hobby, and solve the problem being discussed.

So then I get a very rude and snotty reply to a simple post, and *im* the bad guy?
I think that says more about your character than mine, if that's the way you see it.

"I reject your reality and substitute my own"..

Scot
 
  • #40
That way, when the AC kicks on, it blows straight into the GH, and that air is downright cold.

This may actually work out. Just gotta pull up the protective floor coverings and try to find the vents in the den.

indeed. many of the plants you were playing around with were more intermediate-HL than ultra HL.

You are correct. Daytime temps (with no AC, just fans) is maxing out near 78*. None of the neps mind.. just gives them a larger temp difference from day to night.
And you were close, it's a crawl space. And I mean CRAWL! Not sure what the temps are like down there. I don't really fit..
The digging around out back isn't really an option. If I weren't too disabled to dig, I'd have bog city out there. ;)

"I reject your reality and substitute my own"..

Scot

This is exactly what you're suggesting to me.
"Give up growing your collection, and do what I do."

How does that help in anyway? I don't want to grow basic North American plants.
What part of this do you not understand?
I'm not looking to change what I'm growing.
I'm looking to change how I'm growing MY COLLECTION. Not yours, mine..

I don't care about your responses.
I don't care about your opinions.
I just don't care..
Let it go, push on, have a nice day.
OH, and don't dig into my friends in my thread. That's just asking for it.
 
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