Closet Grow Light Setup – Growing Plants In Tight Spaces
Establishing a closet grow setup has never been easier, cheaper, or more practical. That’s thanks in no small part to advances in so-called vertical farming. These and other related innovations have made the necessary equipment more streamlined, readily available, and less expensive. With that, an indoor grow closet setup is simple to create, affordable, and takes up just a closet-worth of space, as the name suggests.
Not everyone has a huge budget nor a spare room, garage, or other outbuilding to dedicate to plant cultivation. With that, closet grow setups have always been popular. And now, setting them up is a breeze with a modicum of knowledge and, of course, the right equipment.
Benefits of Closet Grow Setups
So, why set up a closet grow space versus the alternatives? For many, the benefits are plentiful, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Less costly than a grow room
- More discreet than a grow tent
- Ideal for lower-volume production
- Cost-effective to set up versus alternatives
- Facilitates growing plants in tight spaces
- Highly energy efficient using LED lighting
- Easy to install and later dismantle
- Works in almost any closet
Growing plants will work in almost any closet, including built-in and freestanding units. While the benefits are clear, there are one or two unavoidable drawbacks. Namely, that’s limited room. However, there’s no better option for growing plants in tight spaces at home.
Furthermore, limited growing space often isn’t as big of an obstacle as it may seem. More on that in a moment, including roughly how many plants it’s possible to cultivate in even the most compact closet spaces.
Indoor Grow Closet Setup
Having decided on an indoor grow closet setup, it’s time to start the build. Whether using a built-in closet or a freestanding unit, the space on offer will determine what’s required. That’s in terms of how much lighting is needed and how many pots are necessary. It’ll also determine how much—if any—insulation material is called for.
Don’t worry about a closet being too small. Even a space with a footprint of just two feet by three feet and measuring only four to five feet high is sufficient for many of the most popular, widely grown at-home crops, like microgreens. Take marijuana as another prime example. In a space of this size, there’s typically enough room for three average-sized adult cannabis plants.
Choosing smaller plant strains or varieties is often advisable where space is limited. Aim for ones short and bushy, regardless of the crop in question. For marijuana, an excellent example would be Royal Dwarf.
Indoor Grow Closet Must-Haves
Closet Grow Light
A closet grow light setup will ultimately determine the system’s success. Opt for a slimline model – one with a compact form factor. Most LED light units meet this criteria. That makes them far less bulky than many of the alternatives in widespread use in the past, like lights with incandescent bulbs.
Insulation
Temperature is all-important for growing any plant crop. Insulation allows growers to maintain this while limiting excess heat escape into the surrounding space. Also, insulation doesn’t just keep heat in. It also serves to maximize lighting output. That’s as it reflects light toward the plants rather than seeing it absorbed into, in this case, a closet’s walls.
For insulation in a closet grow, Mylar® polyester film and similar products are popular. Where managing heat transfer is less of a priority, and it’s more a matter of maximizing light output, simply painting the inside of a closet white can also have a similar effect.
Ventilation
Ventilation reduces excess humidity, provides plants with life-giving fresh air, and helps to eliminate odors. A grow closet ventilation system can be as basic or complicated as necessary. That includes installing multiple hard-wired intake and exhaust fans or opting for more rudimentary provisions like ensuring manual airflow. Where minimizing any odors from a closet grow setup is a priority, carbon filters are advisable.
Space-Saving Pots
Any plant-growing setup will call for plant pots. However, where space is at a premium, such as in a closet grow space, choosing the right pots for the job is paramount. For example, opting for square plant pots saves wasted space and allows for raising more plants in close proximity.
Watering System
Like light, plants also need water for survival. Second only to lighting, then, is watering. These requirements are made infinitely easier by installing a watering system. This system needn’t be overly complicated. Alternatively, regular daily watering with a watering can or suchlike will usually suffice where more complicated provisions aren’t an option for one reason or another.
Drainage System
As with a watering system, built-in drainage will make growing plants in tight spaces a breeze, particularly in a closet. Again, this can be as straightforward or complicated as necessary. In the simplest sense, allowing excess water from plants to drain into a tray works. This surplus water is then easily transported away in the same tray or via one or more buckets.
Thermometer
One possible downside to a closet grow setup stems from among the most significant benefits. That’s because the small spaces cleverly being utilized can quickly become too hot or too cold. Monitoring the temperature with a suitable thermometer is crucial to mitigate the risk of plants suffering from fluctuations. Thermometers aren’t expensive, and adding two or more in different parts of a closet is often advisable to allow for more accurate gauging of overall temperature readings.
Hygrometer
Akin to a thermometer, a hygrometer, used to measure water vapor levels in the surrounding air, helps ensure and maintain optimum humidity requirements.
Tools and Other Considerations
If mounting light-hanging brackets, installing insulation material, or creating holes for ventilation purposes, a tool kit including at least a drill and an electric screwdriver will almost certainly make things easier.
Most crucial of all, though, is that all-important lighting. Of course, closets get no natural light. Therefore, supplemental lighting isn’t optional – it’s a fundamental requirement, just as it is in significantly boosting growth rates in greenhouses and other plant-growing operations.
How to Setup Closet Grow Light
With the importance of lighting established, setting up the necessary provisions to achieve optimum results is similarly crucial. Invariably the best lighting option for any closet grow setup will be LED-powered. LEDs are more slimline, produce less heat than alternative options, and boast numerous other benefits for a closet grow light setup.
For any LED closet grow setup, when pertaining specifically to the lighting, refer directly to the manufacturer’s instructions. Bata is one such manufacturer. The company is a leading global producer of grow lights, and every unit ships with a comprehensive manual and user directions. When choosing Bata grow lights, always use this manual and the enclosed instructions to perfectly optimize any new LED closet grow setup at the point of installation.
The Best Lights for a Closet Grow Setup
With LED lighting decided upon, the next step is to choose a system. Understanding the effect of LED greenhouse light on plant growth and indoor cultivation will help to facilitate the best setup.
In short, that’s the benefits of LED greenhouse lights, particularly regarding intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod. Leading manufacturer Bata produces among the best closet LED grow light solutions on the market. The most highly rated options include the following:
Bata Toplight Series
The Bata Toplight Series provides exceptional top-down illumination for indoor growing operations. That includes space-saving closet grow setups. The Toplight Series from Bata grants superior spectrum coverage and intensity to promote robust plant growth and abundant yields, even in tight spaces. The Toplight Series is ideal for most growing environments, including larger-scale indoor greenhouse farming.
Bata Interlight Series
The Interlight Series from Bata provides precise and targeted supplementary lighting for any number of growing environments. Tailored to enhance plant growth, increase yields, and optimize space utilization, the Bata Interlight Series is ideally suited to meeting the demands of most at-home closet grow light setup installations. A testament to their success, Interlight Series grow lights are also widely used in various commercial environments around the world.
Bata UFO Series
For more compact closet grow setups, it’s hard to beat the all-in-one convenience of the Bata UFO Series. UFO Series models offer high-performance, cost-effective lighting and cater perfectly to diverse planting environments, including closet grow light setups. Bata’s UFO Series delivers outstanding adaptability when growing plants in tight spaces, maximizing growth and minimizing energy consumption.
Other Considerations
As covered above, most LEDs are great for growing plants in tight spaces by virtue of their slimline proportions and minimal heat production. Other advantages of specifically using Bata’s LEDs in closet growing spaces, greenhouses, and elsewhere include unbeatable energy efficiency, the reduced need for additional fertilization (see: Effect Of LED Greenhouse Light On Plant Growth And Indoor Cultivation), and extended equipment lifespans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Use a Grow Light in a Closet?
With just a few considerations, absolutely. For a closet grow light setup, LED lights are highly recommended. Using non-LED lighting in confined spaces, like closets, can lead to overheating and other issues. With that, ensure the exclusive use of LED lighting when establishing a closet grow setup. Any other solution will likely cause temperatures to climb too high, potentially leading to overheating and similar hazards.
Can You Turn a Closet Into a Grow Room?
Turning a closet into a grow room follows many of the same principles as setting up a grow tent. It can also be thought of as a grow room, only on a much smaller scale. Furthermore, turning a built-in or freestanding closet into a grow room is more straightforward and less costly than the alternatives.
How Do I Turn My Closet Into a Grow Room?
The optimum indoor grow closet setup is explained in detail above. However, in summary, the process involves just a handful or so of steps. These steps include sourcing and installing the following vital pieces of equipment:
- Closet grow light
- Insulation
- Ventilation
- Space-saving plant pots
- Watering and drainage systems
- Thermometer and hygrometer
In many cases, it’s best to start by choosing the ideal LED grow light for the job. Choose a solution based on the space afforded by the closet in question. Then, build out around this to ensure the best possible use of all available space to guarantee the optimum outcome.
How Do I Cool Down My Grow Closet?
The ideal way to keep a grow closet cool is to prevent it from getting too hot in the first place. The best way to do this is by using LED lighting. LEDs run much cooler than the likes of incandescent bulbs. With a suitable energy-efficient LED closet grow setup, even small spaces won’t normally overheat. If they do, additional ventilation is usually the answer.
Is It Safe to Have Grow Lights in a Bedroom?
Yes, particularly in terms of LED grow lights. LED grow lights are fundamentally the same as those used for other indoor lighting but are tailored toward certain intensity and spectrum requirements. So, whether in a bedroom closet, grow tent, or elsewhere, LED grow lights operate similarly to any other at-home LED room lighting and, therefore, are safe for all indoor use.
How Do You Ventilate a Grow Closet?
Ventilating a grow closet most often relies on one or more fans and vents. These remove stale air, provide plants with life-giving fresh air, and, crucially, help to eliminate odors. Grow closet ventilation can be as simple or complicated as required, ranging from very basic provisions to more permanent hard-wired intake and exhaust fan systems.
Closet Grow Light Setup Next Steps
Are you searching for the perfect grow light for closet use? Then look no further than leading grow light manufacturer Bata. Bata’s cutting-edge plant cultivation-focused LED grow lights build upon more than 150 years of international lighting innovation.
Backed by massive ongoing research, Bata’s innovative LED lighting solutions are now a go-to choice for serious growers worldwide. The company’s dedicated engineers continue to drive trailblazing LED grow light developments, offering the latest technology for all growing environments. Contact Bata today to find out more.
