How watertight is watertight?

The Oreon Grow Light is the result of 10 years of continuous design improvements. During these 10 years the company gained a lot of experience installing, running and keeping operational LED installations in the harsh greenhouse environment. All this experience is translated into the design of the durable products they sell today. Their first grow lights, which came onto the market almost 10 years ago, were revolutionary in terms of power density and efficiency. Some of these first installations are still in operation today. From the start, Oreon has believed that water-cooling is the best way to integrate lighting into the carefully controlled climate of a growing environment, while at the same time ensuring a long lifetime of the LEDs by keeping them cool.

One of the drawbacks that growers experience with traditional HPS light fixtures is the need for periodic maintenance; bulbs need replacement and dirt accumulates on the reflector requiring removal and subsequent cleaning of those reflectors. Oreon decided that their light fixtures have to be as easy to use for growers as possible and minimal maintenance should be required.

The harsh environment encountered in the greenhouse requires the electrical system inside the light fixture to be fully protected. No outside influence such as gases or moisture should interfere with the operation of the lights. To achieve this high level of immunity from outside influences, the electrical circuit has to be protected by a watertight enclosure. When asking themselves the question how to guarantee that the enclosure stays watertight over time, Oreon were inspired by the way submarines are built: Submarines use gaskets, bolted flanges and metal hulls. Therefore, in their fixture they are using a heavy-duty gasket, hardened glass and a metal frame bolted to the aluminium housing which compresses the gasket under high pressure. Furthermore the entire enclosure is made out of thick aluminium parts that are protected with either an anti-fouling coating or an anodized surface.

In early 2016, while brainstorming for the upcoming Greentech exhibition, they came up with the idea to demonstrate the water-tightness of their fixture by submerging it in an aquarium while the light was turned on. They got a lot of positive feedback on this display from visitors, therefore after the exhibition they kept this setup running in the showroom. Today, over 1.5 years later, the light is still submerged and fully operational. Added to the feedback they got from many years of field usage of our lights, this test is another confirmation that the Oreon Grow Light is the right design for a durable lighting solution in a greenhouse that will last for many years. The grower gets a virtually maintenance free light fixture, and the Oreon Grow Light is the only fixture that can directly replace a 1000W HPS fixture while consuming 40% less power.

For more information:
Oreon
Lorentzlaan 6
3401 MX IJsselstein
Netherlands
T: +31 30 760 0660
info@oreon-led.com