As the second in a series of brief HortiCann Light+Tech Conference highlights, we’re going to zoom in a little bit on the process of choosing LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) products for grower operation needs.
If you’re specifying LED products, of course you first need to determine the requirements of the facility — supplemental greenhouse lighting may be different from that used in a vertical farm or in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), as it’s also called.
Beyond that, the cultivars involved in the operation are equally important. A tomato and a tulip will have very different needs to deliver robust yields. Some of the differences will be in the intensity or duration of light; the spectrum of light that is optimal for enhancing certain plant characteristics; how ultraviolet (UV) spectrum may be utilized to improve crop hardiness, plant nutrients, or resistance to pathogens; and so forth.
Photometric layouts can be a helpful part of the process, as some of our contributors from Independence LED described a couple of years back, but these projects can be complex and there are many factors to consider. Starting with an in-depth understanding of the SSL products and the foundation of their development is key. Samsung principal engineer Will Chung, whose upcoming talk is titled “What to think about when choosing LEDs for horticultural lighting,” will address spectrum, lifetime, and efficacy from a product design point of view and will explain how those engineering decisions result in a variety of SSL products that specifiers and installers can evaluate for their projects.
These are complex topics and they certainly require more than one expert to break them down into comprehensible chunks, so if you were thinking this sounds a bit similar to last week’s blog on the efficiency presentation scheduled with Vic Zaderej, well, I understand. There might be a bit of crossover, but let me deconstruct the differences: That presentation will really focus on the metrics and methodology by which the efficiency of horticultural lighting fixtures is established. We expect Chung will spend much of his presentation explaining the advantages of products designed with specific spectral power distribution to achieve the aforementioned horticultural operation objectives. Efficacy will come into play as it is an important piece in the specifying and buying process, but rather than summarize research that has resulted in commercializing more-efficient fixtures, Chung will tie together the product engineering and performance discussion to illustrate how to evaluate and select appropriate LED luminaires.
Make your plans now to join us at HortiCann on Oct. 31 in Denver, CO. For background on the parallel growth in investment and the developing market for horticultural lighting and technology, check out Maury Wright’s feature from our September 2019 issue.
Get to know our expert
WILL CHUNG is a principal engineer and product manager of horticulture LED lighting at Samsung Electronics. He is currently leading development and marketing efforts of LED products for horticulture lighting applications. He joined Samsung in 2012 and experienced a wide variety of LED packages and modules. He received MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
