5 things you need to know before buying LED lights for your greenhouse
Maybe you want to take advantage of the huge HPS to LED savings, or maybe you’re introducing a new winter crop strategy; whatever the reasons, if you are looking to press the button on buying LED lighting in your greenhouse, It’s time to reflect on the 5 topics that not all lighting suppliers will have enlightened you on (no more lighting puns):
You’ve done your homework and had a design done. Intensity (PPFD), Uniformity, and light efficacy are nailed, and the spectrum is chosen to maximize yield. But before you take the plunge, did you discuss these 5 topics?
- Power Factor Often overlooked but a potential trapdoor to higher energy bills.
- Warranty data. This holds more than just the promise to replace faulty goods. The understanding of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is crucial to knowing your lights expected performance.
- Daily Light Integral (DLI). Sunlight is free, but did you use DLI in your lighting plans?
- Pollination. Have you considered your insect workforce?
- Installation. Have you got an install partner who knows the ropes and understands the pain points?
OK, let’s dive into the 5 topics, or contact us now for a Free consultation.
1. Power Factor – A Hidden Menace
The issues with Power Factor can be represented perfectly by the following pint of beer:
In simple terms, the worse the power factor, the more you lose the energy you consume. Anything below 0.9 is poor and will result in you using more electricity than you should be and means less bang for your electricity Kwh buck. A Low power factor can also mean more electrical harmonic noise on your system (affecting sensitive electrical equipment) and can mean a reduction in the expected lifetime for equipment (amongst a whole host of other valid reasons for not accepting it).
2. Warranty and What To Be Aware Of:
We are all guilty in the lighting industry of pushing up the warranty promises as LED’s performance just keeps on getting better, but what else should we look for in the lighting warranty and performance data?
Most reputable companies offer a 5-year warranty L90 – 50,000 hours, where L defines the light output at the end of a specified timeframe. In this instance, the light will be at least 90% as bright at 50,000 hours as it was on day one. All good so far. But that’s not the whole story. The L value should be followed by a B value where the B value represents the failure rate of the L data.
So, if your new lights are typical L90B70 @ 50,000 hours, this means only 70% of your lights, if tested at 50,000 hours, are guaranteed to be at least 90% output. Fully 30% could be way below that number, so they are not broken, still emitting light but certainly not where you expect them to be. This could play havoc with the uniformity of the installation resulting in balancing issues, uneven growth, and reduced yield.
3. Daily Light Integral Simply Put
Are you making the most of free solar radiation? All crops have an associated Daily Light Integral (DLI) figure (how much light a plant or crop needs to grow on a daily basis).
Depending on your particular growing strategy or crop stage, once you settle on a target DLI and are happy your crop will get the optimum amounts of light, your DLI figure should be made up of what the sun is expected to provide along with what your supplementary lighting needs to provide
Websites like www.dli.suntrackertech.com are brilliant in that they detail monthly projected values by geographical area for the DLI from sunlight which will help you calculate what supplementary lighting you need to add and, for example, when you will expect to need to start turning them on. Solar radiation is free and can mean you don’t need as much supplementary light as you thought BUT remember, dirty glass or greenhouse coverings cut transmission rates horribly !!
4. Pollinators need Love too
Have you considered the pollinator’s health? Lights that simply switch on/off without dimming can seriously affect your buzzing workforce. The stomata cameras show plants also show signs of distress if subjected to harsh lighting control).
Hence, a strategy for returning the bees to the hive at the end of their shift is critical. A simple lighting control strategy with dimming capability. It can be the difference between a harmonious bee hive and a bee revolution. So a worthwhile additional investment…
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Pesticides have been linked to the decline in pollinator populations, especially bees. A 2012 study found that neonicotinoid pesticides harm not only honeybees but also bumblebees and solitary bees. The study showed that using neonicotinoids leads to a decrease in the number of queen bees, leading to a decline in the population.
Pollinators and Pesticides
If a bee were a superhero, its sight would be its superpower. Every bee has two large compound eyes, amazing examples of nature’s engineering. A compound eye is made up of thousands of tiny lenses called facets. Each facet takes in one small part of the insect’s vision which the bee’s brain converts into a mosaic-like picture of each image. Every facet is connected to a tiny tube. Each of these units called an ommatidium, contains a lens (facet), a cone of visual cells, and pigment cells that help to separate it from its neighboring cells.
A bee is able to see color because each of these tiny tubes contains eight cells that respond to light. Four cells respond to yellow-green light, two respond to blue light, and one to ultraviolet light. A bee can also detect polarized light. Polarized light moves in one direction and is caused when air molecules from the atmosphere scatter light photons to create a “super highway” of light. A bee’s amazing eye can scan and match the polarization patterns in the sky, it’s a bee’s version of GPS. They can use this polarized light as a navigation system. This is a superpower because bees can use polarized light to locate direction even when the sun isn’t shining. They then communicate these directions to the colony. Basically, it’s a bee road map. Bees can find their way back home by checking the pattern of polarized light in the sky.
5. A good Installer is critical
They can be really difficult to find, but an install partner who knows PAR from PPFD can explain the benefits of LED over HPS and understands the unique challenges in lighting up large greenhouses is someone you should have on your team. An installer should be a trusted advisor, a sage who understands the electrical architecture and requirements of seasonal demand. And who is engage properly could save you immeasurable time and effort. Large-scale greenhouse installs are unique with their own requirements, it’s more than just the scale of the cost of a missing connector or bracket being magnified exponentially. It’s about the experience of multiple installations after all mistakes soon eat away any profits and goodwill.
To Conclude
LED lighting is a great choice for greenhouses, but any sizeable capital implementation will substantially impact your growing regime and your wallet. Therefore, as a capital investment, there are lots to consider before making any decisions. This article principally focuses on the less well-discussed but equally important topics that we, as lighting manufacturers, often come across. With today’s energy prices, LED lighting is a no-brainer when selecting over traditional HPS lighting. The real decision now is choosing who your best-fit lighting partner is, majoring in what experience they bring, and ensuring no last-minute surprises.
At Current Lighting, our pedigree for manufacturing lighting products dates back to Thomas Edison in 1879, although we cannot categorically confirm he used them in his greenhouse.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your project with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be more than happy to help.
Aim High
Horticultural lighting has come a long way in recent years, and Current Lighting, as one of the world leaders, offers an unbeatable selection of LED fixtures and hybrid solutions for Indoor and greenhouse farming uses. Whether you’re looking to set up a small-scale operation or a large commercial facility, we have scalable lighting options that will meet your needs year-round. By using Arize® LEDs, growers can reduce energy costs while tailoring the light spectrum to the specific needs of their plants.
This results in increased yields and improved quality. In addition, Arize® LEDs have a long lifespan and are shows to be more durable than other types of light sources. As the leading grow lights provider, Current Lighting is committ to helping Growers produce the highest quality crops possible. Contact us today to learn more about our products and how we can help you take your operation to the next level.
About:
This article is a collaboration between Gregory Kilbride and Cees Steenkuyl, two current lighting employees passionate about horticulture lighting. Together, they work to provide sustainable Horticulture lighting solutions for growers interested in saving energy while increasing crop yield.
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