The color of your grow room matters beyond aesthetics. You want your grow room to be as energy-savvy as possible. Though the quality of grow lights has improved with time, you can enhance light efficiency without consuming more electricity. The secret is to harness the light from the source and focus it on your plants. Reflectivity allows you to trap the light and reflect it back to the plant in an endless cycle.
This way, your plants benefit from the light that could have been absorbed by the walls of your grow room. When you fully maximize the power of reflective walls, your plants will be engulfed in light. More light means healthy growth and better yield.
Besides, reflective walls allow other sides of the plant to receive light. This is essential for the development of bud sites that are not close to the canopy. Beginners, who are not good at training their plants can benefit from the reflection as it enhances light distribution— no more shadows!
Have you noticed the best cannabis grow tents have an inner highly-reflective mylar? When you choose the right color for your grow room, the walls will work like the reflective mylar— of course, the mylar is more reflective and delivers better efficiency.
When painting the walls is the better option
Fact is, reflectivity matters in every grow set up. And for better light efficiency, you’d rather cover your walls with more reflective materials than paint. However, these circumstances make painting the walls the better option.
When you have a bigger grow room
If you have a bigger grow room, it can get pretty expensive to use highly-reflective coverings. Besides, covering huge spaces without leaving creases and air pockets can be pretty challenging, especially for a beginner. When wrongly done, the creases can reduce reflectivity and light efficiency. The air pockets can also create hot spots that harm your plants. For a bigger grow room, painting the walls save you money and comes with less maintenance.
When you’re working on a budget
Another aspect of cost pops up in the form of maintenance. Unlike other wall coverings like mylar that can tear and fade, the flat white latex paint stays put for long. After doing the paint job, you can use the grow house for many grow cycles without touching the walls again.
Of course, you will have to wipe it after some time, but that’s just labor— no money spent. The upfront cost is also lower compared to buying other reflective materials.
When you have no experience installing wall coverings
You might think it’s an easy thing to do, but installing the reflective wall coverings takes skill and precision. When done well, your plants will enjoy higher reflectivity, but when poorly installed, you’ll end up with creases and air pockets. Creases and air pockets create hot spots and reduce reflectivity.
Therefore, if you have no experience installing wall coverings, and you have no budget to have a professional do it, painting the grow room walls will be the best option for you. It doesn’t take much, just a roller, paintbrushes and you’re good to go!
Being a beginner sucks, doesn’t it? No it doesn’t. Remaining a beginner does! You’ll be calling on professionals to do your day-to-day cannabis growing tasks. Empower yourself by reading these cannabis grow books; you’ll be able to do more yourself and save more money.
The best paint color for your cannabis grow room
The color white is the best for reflection. Though it comes in different forms; gloss, matte, and the titanium white, it is the flat white latex that gives you better reflection affordably. Titanium white gives better reflection, but it’s too expensive.
Flat White Latex Paint
Flat white latex paint, also known as matte, is your best option if you need to paint your grow room walls. It has a reflectivity of between 80-90%, which is lower than most reflective materials, but it’s long-lasting and requires little maintenance. Unlike other wall coverings, the flat white latex paint doesn’t create hot spots—no creases, no bubbles!
White paint is very affordable, both when painting the first time and maintaining it. Though most people will go for other coverings, the flat white latex paint gives a more permanent reflection to your walls. It neither tears nor fades.
Also, you can easily clean it with water, and it’ll be back in its original glow. Plus, it works better than most white paints. Though the glossy white might seem more reflective, the flat white latex paint does a better job.
Pros of using the flat white latex paint
The flat white latex paint gives you a lesser reflectivity than most coverings. At 80- 90%, it trails behind Mylar which gives you between 90-95% reflectivity. Still, most growers choose flat white latex paint because of the following;
Durability- When professionally done, the flat white latex paint will serve you for years. Depending on the traffic in the grow room, the paint can last up to 10 years. Of course, you’ll be doing touchups on the walls to remove blotches, scratches, and stains. Ensure you apply at least two coats for a longer-lasting finish.
Cost savings- We can’t emphasize this enough, even with the cost of buying supplies like brushes and rollers, you’ll still save a lot of money with paints. Paints save you a lot of money, both in the upfront purchase and maintenance costs.
Ease of installation- You can paint the grow room yourself without stressing. Just make sure you have no allergy for fumes and use protective gear while doing the paint job.
Also, with paints, there’s no risk of creases and air pockets that can create hot spots.
Cons of using flat white latex paint
Though an excellent solution to those who want to save money and get a longer-lasting reflective wall, paints have these shortcomings.
You will have to add fungicide– Paints might be easy to clean, but the surface still holds a lot of debris and dust. You should add fungicide to your paint to inhibit the growth of fungi on your walls. Adding the fungicides adds to the cost.
Buying supplies- Though you can do the painting job yourself, you will need the tools to do it. This might add up to your costs if you didn’t have the supplies like rollers and brushes in mind.
In Conclusion
The white flat latex paint is a better option if you’re looking for an affordable, durable, and effective solution. Reflective walls can feed your plants 30% more light when done correctly. However, note that the amount of light reflected will reduce if the walls are covered in stains. So avoid markings on the wall, and wipe it clean whenever it gathers dust and smears.
