9 Tricks for Growing in the Loft or Attic

Thinking of growing in a loft or attic? The good news is it can be done. You just need to make a few smart choices. Here are 9 tricks to try when setting up a loft grow room.

Lofts aren’t normally insulated. They get cold in winter, and hot in summer. This makes it tougher to control your climate.

So, the first thing to do is insulate.

Something like Kingspan Insulation Boards are great for attic grow room insulation.

If you’re not going to insulate the room, insulate your tent instead.

Air from inside your home is closer to your target temperature.

It’s cooler in summer, and warmer in winter (than the air in your loft). It's also richer in CO2 - we exhale CO2 when breathing.

Do not extract air into the room your tent is in.

If you do, it can end up being drawn back into your tent as intake air.

You really want to extract to an outdoor location. This is something you should be doing anyway, but is even more important when growing in a loft.

It’s a struggle to get bulky bits of kit in and out of a loft grow room.

So, if possible, go for things you can expand, collapse or fold. Like a FlexiTank and Flexi-Tray. RhizoPots are pretty handy too, for all the same reasons!

The last thing you want is a loud system that you need to keep checking.

AutoPots are great as they’re passive and quiet.

Spills are a pain in any grow room. But in lofts and attics it's more of a struggle to clear them up.

To be on the safe side, make sure you use catchment trays and saucers. Try to pick a system you know is unlikely to leak.

Attic roofs are sloped - to maximise height, pick a tent that also has a sloped roof.

You can use a standard flat roof tent, but you'll lose some height. When that happens, it can become an issue keeping a safe gap between your canopy and lights.

Try a BAY6 Loft Grow Tent or BudBox Roof Tent – they’re the perfect fit.

You want a light that’ll fit in the narrow top of your tent. One that beams light down at the right angle.

Something like a Telos LED or air-cooled lights are great. But you might get problems with an HPS set-up.

When growing in tight spaces, always pick a low profile light that doesn't emit much heat. This’ll help make it easier to keep a safe gap between plants and your canopy layer in summer. Something like a Telos LED, CFL or air-cooled light is ideal.

In an attic, you can get sharp spikes and sudden drops in your temperature. It's harder to keep a constant climate.

To counter this, you really want to micromanage your climate. Invest in quality fan speed controllers. Use themostatic controls for heaters. Decent controllers are really worth the investment here.