Choosing between simple and advanced LED grow lighting
Source: HD.com
Roughly 15 years ago, LED grow lighting was expensive and unproven, with efficacies that didn't clearly beat HPS lighting. Price per photon has dropped by a factor of 20 or more compared to early fixtures.
Commercial LED efficacy has gone from around 1.3–1.5 µmol/J to routinely exceeding 2.5 µmol/J, a threshold HID lighting can't reach. Notably, many early feature-heavy systems, like early attempts at dynamic spectral control, failed, leaving some adopters, particularly universities and research facilities, with expensive, unworkable equipment.
Heavy, year-round lighting operations with high electricity costs see much faster ROI from efficiency gains. Related Articles Choosing between simple and advanced LED grow lighting "There's only one enemy of LEDs, and that's heat" Helping growers save energy or boost crop growth through automated spectrum optimization Belgian success on the football field Japan: Research focuses on improving fruit set under low-light conditions Related Articles Forecast-driven lighting and energy management as next phase of greenhouse LED control From climate control to plant control "Vertical farming is always looking for efficiency, specific spectra and multi-channel control" Optical material selection remains key consideration in lighting Are your LEDs ready for the future?
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
