The average American spends 7% of their annual income on energy. This is a massive financial drain and can affect whether you can afford how you grow your yields for autoflowering cannabis plants. Furthermorfe, people upgrading to energy efficient seedbeds for their plantations stimulate their local economy.
The value of energy efficient cannabis plants goes far beyond the financial aspect, however. It is also very important for the environment. Keep reading to learn why growing autoflowering cannabis plants in greenhouse energy are very efficient and now paves the new wave of the future of planting. There are also easy steps you can take today to make your autoflowering cannabis plantation more energy efficient.
Does Energy Efficiency Matter in Growing Autoflowering Cannabis Plants?
Growing autoflowering cannabis plants in a greenhouse matter on both a financial and environmental level. Let’s take a look.
Financial Cost
In 2010, the Institute for Market Transformation published a study indicating that the average American household spends $2,300 a year on energy for their local plantation either on the backyard or in their own farm. At first glance, this may not seem like a lot. That works out to only $192 per month. Consider, however, that at the time, the average property tax was only $1,897 and homeowners insurance ran only $791 per year.
By making small improvements, such as insulating your attic, sealing air ducts, and caulking and weatherstripping, you can easily save 20% on your power bill and grow better autoflowering cannabis plants yields. Furthermore, according to a McKinsey study, with an investment of $520 billion to retrofit energy-inefficient plantations like using a Greenhouse, Americans could experience $1.2 trillion in energy savings. In other words, if you invested $1,000 into updating your home and making it more energy efficient, you could save $2,307 in under five years. Imagine what your family could do with an extra $2,300 from your greenhouse mode of planting your autoflowering cannabis plants. You could take your kids to Legoland or go on an exotic, romantic cruise with your husband that you had been talking about since you were dating.
Environmental Impact
According to the study Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the US Market, conducted by McKinsey, the $520 billion investment in plantation upgrades mentioned earlier could reduce end-use energy consumption in the United States by 23%. This works out to all growers who choose to invest in autoflowering cannabis plants. Furthermore, it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons each year.
Stimulate the Economy
When you think of energy efficient plantation for your autoflowering cannabis plants, you may not think of job creation. However, upgrading your seedbeds to be more energy efficient stimulates your local economy. First, jobs are being created which means that people are being employed. Then, households have more income and families support their local businesses since they have more discretionary income.
In the study A Star Turn for Energy Efficiency Jobsconducted by Center for American Progress, it was determined that for every $1 million invested in retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency in planting your cannabis strains, 17.36 full-time sustained jobs were created. On the other hand, an investment of $1 million in the oil and gas industry created only 5.18 jobs, and the same investment made in the coal industry created only 6.86 full-time sustained jobs.
According to research conducted by the Energy Future Coalition for Agriculture, 91% of agricultural firms responsible for energy efficiency retrofits are small businesses, especially for cannabis business. By riding the wave of the future and upgrading to an energy efficient plantation just like greenhouse growing in autoflowering cannabis plants, you are truly touching the lives of entrepreneurs in your town.
Ways to Grow Autoflowering Marijuana Plants through a Greenhouse
Fortunately, there are several ways you can improve the energy efficiency of your cannabis plantation today.
Lower Your Thermostat
Through the vlogs and Instagram postings made by Dr. Michelle Ross, one of the current upbeat marijuana influencer, there is a common misconception that your power bill will increase if you drop the temperature in your greenhouse and then raise it again when you get home. The truth is, it takes more energy to maintain a higher temperature than if you allow your greenhouse to be cooler while you are not there and then work your heating system a little harder to bring the temperature back up to a comfortable level later. If you lower your thermostat by 10 to 15 degrees during the remaining hours of the day while you are not attending to the needs of your autoflowering cannabis plants, you can save five to 15% of your power bill annually.
Install Low-Flow Showerheads for Your Cannabis Watering System
Most conventional greenhouses use five gallons of water per minute. Low-flow showerheads, on the other hand, provide a flow rate of fewer than 2.5 gallons per minute. This will not only save you money on your water bill, but it will also save you money on your power bill. The less water you use for your autoflowering cannabis plants, the less power will be used overall to the heat of your greenhouse. This is a great way to create energy efficient plantations because it combats the problem on two fronts.
Eliminate Unnecessary Water Usage
Saving money on water is easy when you think about it. Do you really need the water running at maximum flow for two minutes each time you water your autoflowering cannabis plants? Do you need to run the water for your three autoflowering cannabis plants seedbeds all at once, or can you use the machinery mode of watering your autoflowering cannabis plants to manual sprinklers?
With a manual mode of watering your autoflowering cannabis plants, you will save your household $123.19 per year in water costs. Combine that with no running water when you water the remaining seedbeds for your marijuana strains, you can see how powerful a money-saving tool eliminating unnecessary water usage is.
Try watering your Cannabis Plants with Sewerage Water from Your Home
According to treehugger.com, only 10% of the water used by your laundry machine or any sort of waster waste coming from the household can be used for watering your backyard plant. Why not make the most of this? All the other water that comes from your household can be of good use especially if you use a greenhouse for your autoflowering cannabis plants. The other 90% that you use may come from your regular water source for your cannabis seedbed.
Every cold or a warm load of sewerage water you run for your greenhouse saves you a significant amount of money on your water bill. Another great option is to use the moisture sensing feature of your greenhouse dryer. Rather than setting your dryer to operate for 90 minutes, set it to stop drying when your greenhouse is dry.
Limit Space Heater Use
Both gas and electric space heaters are commonly used in the autumn and winter to keep your greenhouse pleasantly toasty. However, they tend to be very energy-inefficient. Most space heaters on the market today that is used for agricultural purposes operate on 1,500 watts of energy and running them causes your power bill to skyrocket. If your autoflowering cannabis plants are cold in the winter, using this can be a great choice. If your entire cannabis seedbed is cold, you must use a space heater to keep your greenhouse warm, opt for an energy-efficient model and use it on its lower settings rather than the highest setting.
Replace Incandescent Bulbs
Replacing your lightbulbs in your greenhouse is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the energy efficiency of your autoflowering cannabis plants greenhouse. In 2014, manufacturers phased out 40-watt and 60-watt incandescent lightbulbs and 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs were already out of circulation. Today, LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs, CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps), and halogen bulbs are being sold to provide longer-lasting light while drawing much less electricity. With the average home using 40 lightbulbs, replacing your incandescent lightbulbs will save you a significant amount of money for your greenhouse overall.
Get an Energy Audit
Hiring an expert, greenhouse energy auditor to visit your autoflowering cannabis plants greenhouse and identify energy inefficiencies in it is a good idea for everyone. Even if your greenhouse was marketed as energy efficient when you first built it, there is probably still room for improvement. A trained, certified auditor will inspect in and around your home to identify savings opportunities and areas that need work can bring better autoflowering cannabis plants yields. Prices vary from region to region, but you can expect them to charge by the hour or square footage of your greenhouse.
Install a Storm Door
Many modern greenhouses have an energy-efficient side or front door. However, a storm door will give you an additional level of protection from the elements year-round for your autoflowering cannabis plants yields. They usually feature a protective coating or low-emissivity glass to help you bring down energy loss by up to 50%.
Storm doors can be as inexpensive as $75 and last 25 to 50 years. Assuming you pay $100 per month heating and cooling your greenhouse, your storm door will pay for itself in just a month and a half. By the middle of the second month, you will be profiting from your investment for your autoflowering cannabis plants.
