Page 82 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - April 2017

strategies in light rEport

A Di erent

“Green” LED

LEDs may be “green” for their energy-saving properties, but

the latest excitement in solid-state lighting has to do with

serving the horticulture niche.

T

he “energy story” portion of LED light- “There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Small-
ing is widely known; what’s ge ing a wood said to audience members, who nodded

lot of a ention these days is the ap- their heads in agreement. In his opinion, “the

plications of LED lighting in the other potential [for LED] in this area hasn’t been fully
“green” market: plants.
realized yet.”

“LEDs are seeing a lot of interest among niche For one thing, “lighting for plants is di erent
markets such as horticulture,” noted Philip Small- than lighting for people; it’s a completely di er-

wood, Director/LED & Lighting Research for ent metric,” Smallwood remarked. Illumination

Strategies Unlimited. While many growers use for human beings is all about lumen output;
high-pressure sodium to provide the wavelengths however, with plants, it’s all about the rate of

of lighting needed, others are looking to LED as a photosynthesis — and just as with LEDs, there
source that will not waste as much energy. “With isn’t standardization yet. With a reported 54 bil-

LED, you can custom-tune the lighting depending on lion square feet of greenhouse space in the world

where the plant is in its growth cycle,” he explained.
today, tapping this market means big business.
With more a ention paid to horticulture light- “It’s not just how big the greenhouses are, but

ing comes the swell of inferior products on the how much each of them are being illuminated,
market that make a lot of unsubstantiated claims.
which is a smaller number,” he commented.

80 enLIGHTenment Magazine | april 2017
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