VPD as a range for temp &/or RH

Ideas & Feature Requests
#1

Hi Guys

I was wondering if you could incorporate VPD in your programming. I mean truly use it in the calculations.

Currently, if you input a VPD and a temp or RH the program will calculate a corresponding RH or temp and locks it into that point. When the daytime setting engages the heater engages and the temp rapidly rises until the heat from the lights over powers everything and we go into cooling mode. From there it is a battle to keep it at that point.

What would be ideal is to input a VPD and a range of temp &/or RH. This way when the morning comes the Niwa controller will gently push the temp/RH into the range and keep it there. Later in the day if conditions warrant (ie there is a heat dome) the system will kick in to maintain the VPD at the upper range.

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#2

Hey Skeena, thanks for your feedback, we will take it into account.

#3

I second this feature.

For some reason I thought it worked like this when I purchased the unit.

Maybe I am going about it the wrong way, but I am having trouble making all 4 units work efficiently together. (Humidifier, Dehumidifier, Heater, AC)

I would LOVE to have an option where VPD takes precedence over temp and relative humidity.

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#5

New to indoor growing, I don’t have the luxury of an AC and have been consistently fighting it for a couple of years. If there was an option, let’s say that if the AC was not a select device, follow the VPD when temps exceed the set program until the programmed heat temps return.

#6

I would also like to see this feature. Is it possible to do? What’s the latest from Niwa folks about this feature?

#7

It’s been almost a year since this was discussed. Is there any new development on this issue of directly controlling by VPD? I, too have this problem when the weather is unsettled and ambient temps and humidity change throughout the day and the week. I have all the environment modification devices except a dehumidifier, although my portable a/c unit of course dehumidifies as it cools. In summertime AZ, we air condition the house, but we do not turn on the heat in our “winter”, so the house remains quite cool. I grow in a 8x2x8’ closable (sliding doors) closet in a bedroom that’s about 12x12x8’. My fan exhausts filtered air from the upper area of the closet out into the room. The a/c unit is inside the closet, along with the heater and humidifier, all in the right half of the closet. The a/c vents its hot air exhaust into the garage, which is on the other side of the closet wall. It sure would be great to set a VPD range and let the NIWA keep it within that range. Please let us know if this is even a possibility or if you’ve been working on this for the last year and were just about to make a big announcement…!

Let me also say that I love my NIWA and what it already does…I find it is indispensable in my grows…thank you NIWA!

#8

Hi @gmolorin, we have explored several options, the problem is there are many different environments and set-ups, so we have not found a reliable option that fits everyone. The main problems are when different devices fight each other (e.g. fans vs humidifiers) So if we want a different control thread we would have to add many different options to the app making it more complex to use for users. We are priming simplicity and reliability, this being said, we keep working on different improvements.

#9

Actually I think you should develop this because being able to control the fan by being to able to choose which triggers the fan will make the app and control more reliable, imho. When the temp is correct but the humidity is too high, triggering the fan to reduce humidity will also bring the temp below desired, so the heater kicks in and they all fight each other. Maybe the correct way is to have more channels in the outlet selection by having dedicated channels: one for light, another, heater, another humidifier, another dehumidifier, another a/c, and lastly the fan which could be user-set to either react to temp or humidity, but not both at same time. You may see this as a more complicated device, but it could possible achieve what we all want: perfect VPD for every stage of growth. Just my opinion.

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