Vertical Farming LED Grow Lights

Plant Factories, Vertical farms, Indoor Farming,… either fully automated or manual, their success in many cases depends a lot on the ideal LED grow light solution.

LED as technology fits of course ideal with the basic needs of multi-layer vertical farming.
Few heat allows limited space between the lamps and the crops leading to a more efficient space occupation.
Much lower power consumption compared to traditional light technologies has made that plant factories today are almost uniquely equipped with LED grow lights to reduce the operational cost.

While most of the LED grow lights bars look rather similar, the differences couldn’t be bigger…
For those who have been running a vertical farm already for a few years it is all crystal clear today – it is all about healthy plants, your capex and opex!

The CoolGrow® Linear

“A linear LED grow light bar full of surprises” this is how you best describe the CoolGrow® Linear.
Besides a market leading light efficiency, this vertical farming grow light platform is foreseen from a bunch of sophisticated features and options what makes implementation in your farm so much more practical.

Light spectra in function of your goals

A “one spectrum server all” is never the ideal approach.

The timing / light duration which is called the photoperiod, is mainly affecting the flowering of the plants. The flowering time can be influenced by controlling the photoperiod.

The spectral composition of the different wavelength regions (blue, green, yellow, red, far red or invisible e.g. UV or IR) is important for the growth, shape, development and flowering (photomorphogenesis) of the plant.

Among them, the phytomorphogenic effects are controlled by applying a spectrum with a certain mix of 660nm and 730nm can be stimulated the Pr (red) and Pfr (far red) phytochromes which are influencing germination, plant growth, leaf building and flowering.

In the same grow rack setup Both in the rooting and vegetative stages, the crops need a relatively high dose of blue photons in the light spectrum.
We always focus on the potential of controllable light spectra in greenhouses, and and the advantage of our LED grow lights are dimmable and controllable by the climate computer. Besides focusing insights into what plants need spectrum wise in each growth phase, dynamic lighting, where the light spectrum is changed during the day, has been proven to be highly beneficial to improve the morphology of the plant and to generate a higher yield for many crops.

The light intensity and photoperiod needs to be adapted to the growth phase and increasingly be augmented towards the end of the egetative phase.
To enable this, the CoolGrow® Linear can be equipped with the CoolControls® digital BLE controls. Both, the light intensity and the photoperiod can be set in a calendar scheme running on a cloud application, without extra cabling on the lamps.

Therefore, that's why we have developed a wide score of grow light spectra, each with its specific purpose and with an absolute balance between targeted plant growth and optimal light efficacy.

Crop-Specific light distribution

Intensive research and development, in collaboration with industry leaders in cultivation systems, has resulted in a wide range of available beam patterns.

For an optimal balance between required lamps and a perfect light distribution, we offer three different lightbeams:

Crop-specific light beams lead to major improvements in specific cultivation systems. As an example, thewide batwing beam placed over a gutter of strawberries immediately leads to a more homogeneous photonspread over the leaves resulting in a higher net photosynthesis and a notable increase of brix level in theberries.

Plant-balanced heat management

The limited heat generation of LED grow lights fits perfectly with the cultivation of colder cultivars likemicrogreens and leafy greens, but also creates major climate advantages for high level lighted crops likemedicinal cannabis.

LEDs definitely also produce heat, but the major differentiator compared to other lighting technologiescomes from the type and the amount of heat which is generated.
An HPS SON-T lamp of the latest generation has an efficacy around 40%. Which means that a 1000 watts HPS SON-T produces 40% of light and 60% of heat or 600 watts of heat.
Since a HPS SON-T lamp becomes extremely hot, the majority of this heat loss (90%) goes to radiated heat or IR radiation. As a result, this technology doesn’t allow the lamps to hang too close to the crops, which would lead to tip burn and damage of the stomata.
At higher light levels, the excess radiation and general heat loss leads to bigger challenges concerning climate control.

Radiated heat does not only have disadvantages – the long wavelength of the IR radiated heat facilitates thepenetration into the canopy, which on many cultivars leads to extra activation and stomatal opening. Theradiated heat also raises the leaf and plant temperature when it penetrates the tissue.
When transitioning from HPS SON-T lamps to LED technology, adjustments to climate settings and lightstrategies are essential for achieving optimal results.

CFLs or fluorescence lamps (often in the format of a linear TL) are frequently used for micropropagnationand for crops with limited light needs, but have a very low efficiency of only 20%, which means that just 20%of the energy goes to light and 80% goes to heat.

A LED grow light has an average efficacy of 70% and the other 30% goes to heat.
Thermal design to obtain a low temperature is an absolute must in LED grow lights, this ensures a longer lifetime. The heat goes mainly to free air convection, so heat that goes up in the air.

This makes LED grow lights ideal for plant factories and vertical farms, where the lights are placed close to the crops to obtain optimal use of the available height of the room.

As we still want to use the heat loss in the most optimal way, we have designed the CoolGrow® Linear in such way that the chassis of the lamp will stabilize at 40°C at an ambient temperature of 23°C.
In this way, we have created an artificial grow tube where the energy loss is used in a positive way.

Market leading light efficacy

A specific spectrum is not only important for specific growth results.
It also allows you to work at an absolute maximal light efficiency, which at the end determines more that 50% of you annual costs to grow in a vertical farm.

The impact of light efficiency is in many times seriously underestimated.
See the year-round production with continuous lighting, the efficacy of the grow lights is even more important than in a greenhouse.

As below few examples,

Plant factory system for Salads & Microgreens

• A typical plant factory grow light setup for butterhead lettuce with high light level PPFD 280μmol/sm².A plant factory setup with 12 grow units of 8 by 4 feet each (32 square feet per unit, 384 square feet total) needs a total of 48pcs of CoolGrow® Linear lamps, on each shelve placed in a linear setup with 2 rows. Each lamp consumes 60 watts so the total hourly power consumption is 2.88kWh.

  In this example our setup runs 280 days per year at photoperiod of 16 hours per day, 4480 hours per year, so good for a daily light dose DLI of 16.13mol/d.
  The total annual power consumption is 12.9MW.The investment cost with a depreciation on 7 years would come around 1250USD per year while the energy cost calculated at 77USD per MW would result in 993USD per year.
  As a result the total cost per square foot is 5.84USD during the depreciation period, and drop down to 2.59USD after the depreciation.
  The major reason of the moderate operation cost comes from the high efficacy of the CoolGrow® Linear LED grow light, with an efficiency of 3.5 μmol/J with this spectrum for leafy greens.

  To demonstrate the importance of light and spectrum efficacy, a similar system with a light efficiency of 2.3 μmol/J would have a major impact on both capex and opex.
  To reach a light level of 280μmol/sm² you would need 40% more lamps and capital, while the energy cost would raise with the same 40% overall.

Plant Factory setup for vegetative cannabis growth

• A 3 layer setup with a canopy on each layer of 8 feet by 4 feet = 32 square feet per layer, 96 square feet in total.

  Light level PPFD 435μmol/sm².
  Light spectrum high blue broad spectrum – concentration on root development – short vegetative cycle with compact plants.
  8 lamps CoolGrow® Linear per layer – 60 watts per lamps – 15 watt per square foot
  Photoperiod 18 hours – DLI 27 mols/day.
  The lamps can either be placed with 8 bars in parallel next to each other, or in 4 rows of 2 lamps in the length.
  By use of the CoolGrow® Linear 100 watts the rows can be reduced to 3 lines.

Plant Factory setup for flowering cannabis

• 2 layer plant factory setup with per layer a cultivation area of 8 feet by 4 feet = 32 square feet, 64 square feet in total.

  Light level PPFD 900μmol/sm².
  Light spectrum broad generative – concentration on flowering and homogeneous crop development.
  16 CoolGrow® Linear LED grow lamps of 60 watts per layer, either parallel next to each other or in 8 rows over the length daisy-chained or 5 rows of 100 watts.
  60 watts per lamp – 30 watts per square foot.
  Photoperiod 12 hours – DLI 39 mols/day.
  The light intensity and photoperiod can easily be controlled either by a simple dimmer (0-10 volt or PWM) or by the CoolControls® BLE digital controls option. The CoolControls® offers calendar control, so the cultivation can be planned in up front.

Conclusion

With the CoolGrow® Linear everything becomes just that little more effective, which makes the difference in the end.By positioning the LED grow light bars as close as possible to the crops, all the produced light is steered towards the crop in the most effective way.

Also, the generated heat, although less prominent than in other grow light technologies, will thus make a positive contribution to the stomatal opening and plant activation.
The light intensity on the plant canopy can be determined by the distance to the crop, the number of light bars on the surface as well as by light output controls on the lamps themselves.

This way, you can optimise the PPFD needed light level on the crop for each of the plant's growth stages.

Of course the potential of the CoolGrow® Linear goes much beyond these, in case you have specific cultivation requests, let us know and our plant lighting experts will be happy to advise you.

CoolGrow® VF - Indoor Grow Lighting Reinvented

The CoolGrow® VF, a groundbreaking vertical farm lamp that was created out of a collaboration between Colruyt Group and MechaTronix.

Instead of a classic system of light beams that radiate the plants directly, the CoolGrow® VF works with indirect and diffused lighting. The entire growing area is equipped with a highly reflective coating, so that both the ceiling and the side walls become the plant's source of light. The light photons are thus optimally used without any loss of light.

The biggest breakthrough was achieved by the creation of 100% diffuse light, which produced a net increase in photosynthesis and fresh weight of more than 30%.

With just one daisy-chained setup in the center a wide canopy area is totally homogeneously lit. Two optical systems have been brought to market – optics for a canopy width of 3.2 meters and optics for a canopy width of 4.8 meters.

Increase in fresh weight

Simulation of the light rays

From Convection-Cooled Bars to Water Cooling

The lamps are equipped with a unique water cooling technology, which allows setups of up to 200 m² per growth line and reduces the OPEX and Capex for cooling by 15%.

• Standard herbs farm 7128m²:
  convection cooled LED + chillerInstalled power for LED-heat extraction 167,5kWe

• Efficient herbs farm 7128m²:
  water-cooling LED + free-coolingInstalled power for LED-heat extraction 15kWe

Efficiency and dynamic spectrum controls

With an extremely high system efficiency of > 4μmol per Joule and a fully dynamic spectrum, crops are optimally controlled.

Longest lifetime and lowest light decay over time

The CoolGrow VF® is a true masterpiece of technology.
While most LED grow lights for indoor farming use simple cooling like passive aluminium, the heart of the CoolGrow® VF is a sophisticated double-loop water cooling system. This guarantees you the best thermal management of the LEDs on the market. The light efficiency, the lifetime and the light decay (how fast or slow the light reduces over time) are all directly related to the LED temperature of the grow light. With a lifetime of 75.000 hours L90B10 and a warranty of 10 years, the CoolGrow VF offers double the life-time compared to most grow lights for vertical farming.

The combination of all these technologies together gives a new perspective on the future of vertical farming and opens up completely new possibilities.

Together with Colruyt Group, MechaTronix succeeded in making vertical farming commercially feasible on both levels, Capex and Opex, within Western Europe.

The technology, as well as the optics, are globally patented.

For more information, get in touch with MechaTronix!