In this episode of FAQ with AGIQ, we're going to talk about some of the design considerations crucial for the success of a multi-tiered room.
Episode Transcription:
In this episode of FAQ with AGIQ, we're going to talk about some of the design considerations crucial for the success of a multi-tiered room. A multi-tiered room is chosen by many operators for the obvious reason you get to double your canopy area, or double or triple sometimes. But the biggest challenge with it is not just the additional load that that represents. Obviously, a doubling of it, but much more importantly, the new challenges that you'll find in airflow distribution.
We've spoken in the past about how airflow distribution and duct design is the single most important factor to ensuring that you've got a successful facility. That becomes doubly or triply more important when you multi-tier your room. It's much harder to get air into the canopy when you've got a hard obstruction above the trays and another row of plants.
And so, what many operators find is if they don't do the duct design properly, you end up with the top row of plants that does very well (as well as you'd expect), but the benefits from the lower rack or the rack below that are much less than they were expecting. They end up, unfortunately, either bearing very little yield or harboring pests that affect the room altogether.
If you're considering going to a multi-tiered room, make sure that you talk to a trusted design professional around how to get good airflow throughout that, and that's going to involve secondary air movers of sufficient velocity. Again, to achieve that, 3 to 5 feet per second throughout your canopy, and get good mixing in the room so that you've got a very stable condition throughout, a homogenous condition throughout.
It's a difficult thing to do, but if you get it right, you can double or triple your profits.
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