US (MI): Miller Family Farm and Total Grow nominated for Energy Excellence Award Finalists

Cutting electricity use by more than half with TotalGrow Broad Grow Spectrum Lights merited Miller Family Farm’s selection as a Michigan Governor’s Energy Excellence Award finalist. This and other TotalGrow installations reducing power consumption by up to 98% resulted in the selection of Venntis Technologies, makers of TotalGrow, as a finalist in the Innovator of the Year category.

When developing its unique line of lighting products, Venntis Technologies had two goals—to give greenhouse and vertical farm growers the lighting they need to maximize quality and production and reduce the amount of energy consumed and dollars spent. Two product lines in particular helped them achieve this goal: the Broad Grow Spectrum, which helps produce the highest quality crops as efficiently as possible, while reducing power consumption by up to 70 percent, and the Night & Day Management Light Spectrum, which allows growers to simulate long-day perception and control the timing of flowering with over 90% power reduction in most cases. In 2015, these lighting systems enabled Michigan growers to save about 160,000 kWh of electricity.

Rob Miller, GM at Miller Family Farm has optimized growing conditions while reducing his electric bill by converting most of the standard high-pressure sodium grow lights in his vegetable farm’s greenhouses to LED TotalGrow lights. The new, more efficient lighting has reduced electricity consumption by more than 82,800 kWh per year compared to HPS lighting alternatives. Expansions with TotalGrow Broad Grow Spectrum Lights in 2016 and 2017 will more than double their total utilization of the technology while growing crops ranging from tomatoes and cucumbers to spinach in environments ranging from high-wire and aquaponic greenhouses to hydroponics in a converted barn with minimal available sunlight.

In their tomato production houses Rob is utilizing a hybrid lighting system of TotalGrow Broad Grow Spectrum Lights with DE HPS 1000W lights. With an equal number of both, the end results are greatly improved light uniformity thanks to broad TotalGrow distribution patterns, reduced power consumption thanks to the increased efficiency and effectiveness of the TotalGrow lights, reduced upfront costs thanks to the lower costs of HPS lights, and an excellent spectrum for very large plants thanks to the red & blue spectral boosts from TotalGrow lights and the penetration ability of green light from HPS. Furthermore, there were limitations on where HPS lights could be hung without damaging crops due to their radiant heat where TotalGrow lights have filled in the gaps excellently.

For more information:
TotalGrow Lights
1261 S Waverly Rd.
Holland, MI 49423 (USA)
315.3739716
info@venntis.com
www.totalgrowlight.com