Cree launched new LED for agricultural lighting

Lately, Cree launched their new two models of LEDs, XLamp XP-E2 Photo Red (660 nm) and XP-E2 Far Red (730 nm), which are used in the LED grow light. These LEDs have higher lighting effects that can shorten the payback period, and reduce the planting cost under LED lighting.

XP-E2 series is the upgrade version of XP series agricultural LED lighting, having the same mechanical and optic property as the previous generation. In addition, compared with the XP series, the brightness of Far Red LED increase 57%, and that of the Photo Red LED is 21%. The new generation of products reached the top of the industrial level.

Claude Demby, the Manager of Cree LED said that the specific LEDs such as architectural lighting and agricultural lighting are the part of Cree's product strategy. The Photo Red and Far Red full spectrum LED grow light can save more than half of electricity than the HPS plant light. The promotion of agricultural LED lighting is the Cree's promise, that is providing the advanced high power and high performance LED.

It's reported that the farmers in the UK, Netherland, and Belgium have roundly used the LED plant light as the main light source of large indoor planting facilities. As the LED grow light manufacturer, we've been cooperating with the top brand light source supplier like Cree to improve our products.

China's successful LED plant factory

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the people's pursuit of high-quality life, and the upstream industries such as LED plant growth lights and the agricultural intelligent systems have developed rapidly, the cost of various facilities and equipment has gradually declined. The development of artificial lighting plant factories has entered a golden period.

Red & blue LED grow light in the plant factory

Plant Factory refers to plant cultivation systems that fully or partially control the environmental conditions to make the plant growth unaffected by the natural environment. Its main features are that the planting space is closed, the artificial light completely replaces the sunlight, the production cycle is short, etc. In addition, many countries are scrambling to study space farming technologies. In November 2016, Chinese astronauts brought a miniature LED plant factory into space and conducted a number of experiments in the Tiangong-2 Space Lab.

Xicui Plant Factory is one of the first large-scale commercial vertical plant factories in China. Its industrial crop production process and innovative agricultural production methods are examples of high-tech agriculture in the future. As the industry's leading indoor full artificial light vertical farm, the Xicui Plant Factory uses the computer to accurately control key environmental factors in plant growth, so that plant growth is not affected by climate and geographical conditions. The full-circle-controlled growth conditions make it unnecessary to apply any pesticides for the cultivation of vegetables in the Xicui plant; 12 layers of dense planting, extremely high land utilization; high-efficiency water saving, only 1/10 of the water used in traditional agriculture.

At present, the Xicui Plant Factory covers an area of 3,000-square-meter in Guanhu, Dapeng New District. The daily production capacity is around 10,000 dishes, and the products are positioned as high-end customers. According to the latest research of McKinsey Global Institute, the number of middle-income and above people in China reached 290 million in 2011. The annual per capita consumption of high-quality vegetables in this group reached 115 kg. The demand for high-quality vegetables will reach 33.35 million tons, and the output value will exceed 1006. 200 million yuan. The high-end vegetable market has huge space.

LED plant lights help French growers to increase cucumber production

A few days ago, Signify issued a press release announcing that two French vegetable growers have installed Signify's LED garden lighting in their greenhouses to help grow cucumbers throughout the year.

According to the company, Jardins Réunis and Cheminant installed the Philips GreenPower series of plant lights LED Toplight and LED Interlight in their new cucumber greenhouse (located in the Nantes region of France). The two are the first growers in France to use LED lamps to grow steel cucumbers, demonstrating their leadership as a member of the Océane grower cooperative.

Signify pointed out that LED grow lighting can help increase crop yields, and also allows growers to control light and temperature more precisely because LEDs do not generate excessive heat as the light increases. These features ensure the high-quality production of the crop throughout the year as efficiently as possible.

Antoine, a co-owner of Cheminant, said that LED plant lights provide better heat and light balance. Compared to high-pressure sodium lamps, LED lights can greatly increase production without generating heat. According to the calculation, Cheminant's 20,000 square meters semi-enclosed greenhouse is illuminated with LED lights, and the output will be 30% higher than the output of traditional greenhouses without LED grow lights.

Vincent Olivon, co-owner of Jardins Réunis, said that the planting experts can provide good advice and support. LED lighting will help companies improve energy efficiency and reduce production gaps, especially in the winter when revenues are greater. This plays a key role in maintaining the company's position in the market throughout the year.

It is reported that similar to Jardins Réunis and Cheminant, a French Philips Horti LED certified partner Eiffage énergie Systèmes installed Philips LED Toplight (145 μmol/s/m2) and LED Interlight in its 25,000 m2 greenhouse in November 2018. (67 μmol/s/m2).

Summary of LED grow lights in 2018

With the continuous development of modern agriculture, the demand and energy consumption of agricultural lighting is constantly expanding, and new challenges are also raised for traditional lighting technology. As a new generation of the light source, in addition to the characteristics of energy saving and environmental protection, LED has the advantages of the customizable spectrum, high color purity, and rich light color compared with fluorescent lamps or high-pressure sodium lamps.

LED technology has lower power consumption and can save a lot of energy costs compared with traditional plant lighting technology. LED grow lighting solutions can help growers increase yield by 25% and energy costs by 50%. The LED lights with a special spectrum not only optimizes the yield and growth time but also enhances the nutrients contained in the crop and improves its taste and flavor.

It can be seen that LED plant lighting can be designed into various types of light sources according to different crops, precisely controlling the growth of the plants.

LED strip grow lights in the vertical farm

With the continuous improvement of LED plant lighting technology, its application fields will become more and more extensive, including skyscraper tops, vertical farms, greenhouse canopies, homes, shopping malls, and even abandoned containers. According to the data of the Industry Research Institute, the global LED plant lighting market in 2018 is 190 million US dollars, with a growth rate of 26.7%.

According to the estimation of the scale of China's existing agricultural industry, the demand for agricultural LED lighting and its control equipment will reach several billion yuan in the next five years. The LED grow lights for plant factories and greenhouse will be the fastest growing LED lighting field with high technical content. It can be seen that with the increase in the penetration rate of global LED application agricultural lighting, the future market prospect is broad.

Five external factors that affect the service life of LED lights

LEDs are widely used in every lighting industries because of their energy saving, long lifespan, and environmentally friendly. However, there are 5 external factors will shorten their service life.

1. Drive current: The rated voltage and rated current of the LED lights are unchangeable. Therefore, there are different sizes of LED power supplies on the market, and the most common are 12V and 24V DC drive power supplies. For most of the constant voltage LED tape lights currently on the market, the output voltage and power of the power supply must be appropriate, otherwise, it may reduce the life or even damage the LED lights.

2. Corrosive environment: In some areas with serious pollution or in some chemical manufacturing plants, it is best to use LED lamps with protective devices to avoid damage caused by contact with corrosive materials.

3. Operating temperature: The temperature will affect the light decay and service life of the LED. Generally, LED lights are used at temperatures ranging from -20 ° C to 65 ° C. Excessively high or low temperatures will affect the work of lights. In order to avoid the light decay that caused by high temperature, it normally increases the heat dissipation area or installs the active heat sinks.

4. External force: During installation or use, the collision of hard objects or sharp objects will cause the LED to be damaged or even completely destroyed. Therefore, the LED light should be installed as far as possible in a place that is difficult to reach.

5. Humid environment: Whether it is production, storage or use, the LED should be avoided in a humid environment, because the moisture can easily cause the LED to be wet and the short circuit.

These are the five major external factors that affect the life of LED lights. If you have other questions about LED lighting, please feel free to contact us. We are a manufacturer of LED lights in China, specializing in the production of LED light strips and LED plant lights.

LED grow lights help a Swedish farm overcome difficult weather conditions

A Swedish agricultural company, Ljusgarda AB, spent 1.3 million kronor to purchase LED lighting solutions from Heliospectr, known for its intelligent LED lighting systems in plant science and horticulture.

Ljusgarda AB converted a Swedish old factory into an indoor vertical farm with an area of 7,000-square-meter, its estimated annual production is 1,000 tons. Through the introduction of advanced hydroponic cultivation techniques and efficient LED plant lighting, the factory is able to achieve stable output throughout the year and guarantee high quality. Thanks to the closed growing environment, the crop does not require any pesticides, which further guarantees pollution-free production.

In a closed environment, LED plant lights, as the main source of light, play a very important role in plant growth due to the lack of sunlight. And because the spectrum and color ratio of LED lights can be customized according to different plants, growers can use specific LED agricultural lighting according to different plants to achieve the best results.

Ljusgarda has created an optimal indoor environment with LED grow lights and other breeding systems to keep crop production free from adverse weather conditions and achieve high quality and high output throughout the year.

LED lighting helps to plant and harvest fruits in winter

The development of grow lights continues to change our understanding of agriculture. In recent years, with the maturity of LED plant lights technology, more and more plant factories use LED grow lights, and many institutions have conducted research on LED lighting planting crops.

Recently, a Dutch company called Delphy has conducted a study on the use of LED lighting to grow raspberries and blackberries, aiming to harvest fruits during the winter. They first tried using LED lights to grow raspberries and blackberries in November last year and harvested fresh blackberries in March this year. This experiment shows that under limited natural light conditions, the BlackBerry can be successfully cultivated by LED lighting. Based on this experience, in September, the researchers started a new project to grow long-term preserved and frozen blackberry plants and plan to harvest the fruits in December.

According to Delphy, the project is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture and Nature & Food Quality Department, which aims to study the influence of indoor LED lighting and light intensity to promoting crop maturity. At the same time, the research will also develop a future-oriented and energy-efficient new planting concept to grow crops in winter.

Germany successfully grows vegetables in the arctic with the help of LED grow lights

According to the German arctic research camp, researchers have successfully planted and harvested 183kg of fresh vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, kohlrabi and so on. This successful trial not only marks that the humans have the ability to planting in the Arctic but also set an example for other researchers who try to grow plants in other harsh natural environments and outer space.

It is extremely difficult for supply ships to enter the Arctic during the winter because the sea will be covered with extremely thick ice. Therefore, It's almost impossible for staff in the Arctic to eat fresh vegetables at that time. In February of this year, The German team built a greenhouse that could withstand temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius and built vertical farms in it. The lack of sunlight in the greenhouse makes artificial lighting indispensable, for this reason, LED grow lights are used to create the light condition for the growth of vegetables. Although the tomatoes grown in this greenhouse aren't as big as those grown outside, its vitamin content exceeds that of refrigerated vegetables.

This may also be a good example for future agricultural development. Moreover, the LED grow lights that is famous for energy conservation and environmental protection also will occupy an important position in future agriculture.