heat mat and humidity?

[OrchidNut555]

Hi everyone! I got a milsbo and i want to put a few heat mats in there to trap some heat during winter so they can keep on growing at a good pace instead of slowing down. However, with a lot of plants in there the humidity will rise and i was wondering if it's safe to use heat mats in that humidity?
Or would my barrina T8s perhaps give enough heat per shelf?
any general tips on trapping heat in there safely are always welcome too!

[MCD]

Hi, I can only speak for my conditions, but I have a Milsbo setup with a total of 5 24w t8 lights (1 per shelf, one shelf with 2), usually on 13h a day. The temp inside the cabinet reaches about 6C warmer than the room temp during the afternoon. In the winter that gives me about 18C-25C, in the summer I usually insert 1/2 hour pauses in the lighting so that things don't get too hot as it easily goes over 30C (no AC in the house).

The house is very dry in the winter because of the heating (even though my climate is very wet), but I"m not sure that the cabinet increases humidity all that much - I haven't measured, and I don't add humidity other than watering the plants.

One other note is that if you stay with the glass shelves, the area directly on top of a light on the lower shelf is very much like on a heat mat already, so I find that I have plenty of warm areas without the need for a mat, and I would worry that a heating mat in that setup would actually make things too warm.

[MCD]

Edited to remove duplicate reply. Couldn't see a way in the interface to delete it, maybe that requires an admin.

[rbarata]

Note that many plants benefit for a natural temp decrease, usually in winter. Slow growth is a natural part of that process.

[Jmoney]

the seedling heat mats I got on amazon are splash proof so humidity shouldn't be an issue. they recommend no standing water so I let my phals drain a bit before putting them back on the mat. a little water is no big deal and it evaporates quickly.

for phals and bulbos I find it essential. at least here in the northeast where night lows are now around 58-60. these types sulk and/or tend to die when the temps get too low for too long.

[Dimples]

Seedling heat mats are designed to be used in “typical” wet/humid conditions. People use them in greenhouses. The instructions printed on mine say they’re washable and I’ve *carefully* rinsed them off in the sink. A bit of humidity or a splash now and then is fine.