Greenhouses of the future lit with LEDs

Description

The global increase in energy prices, the urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, and the high energy usage are currently the major threats to the greenhouse industry. Optimised control of the lighting quality, quantity and periodicity can contribute to improvements in the productivity and energy efficiency of greenhouses. The video shows Lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Frillice) growing under the LED-DLC lighting system in the greenhouse environment during one of the plant growth experiments carried out during the SSHLighting (Solid-state horticultural lighting system) research project. One of the objectives of the project was to develop and test a dynamic lighting control (DLC) scheme for plant growth applications in greenhouses using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The LED-DLC lighting system was used for instantaneous compensation of lack in daylight availability. The system was aimed to reduce the electrical consumption due to lighting and improve the growth and quality of plants in comparison to plants grown under conventional high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting. For the first time the benefits of warm-white LEDs were evaluated for plant growth applications. The SSHLighting project was a joint research effort between the Department of Electronics - Lighting Unit of Aalto University and Department of Agricultural Sciences - Horticulture of University of Helsinki between 01-06-2009 and 31-08-2011. The project was financially supported by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes, decision # 40167/09), The Finnish Horticultural Foundation (Puutarhasäätiö), Arrant-Light Oy, Elekno Oy, Elektro-Valo Oy, Greenlux Oy, I-Valo Oy, Oy MTG Meltron Ltd and Osram Oy.