The increasing demand for locally grown products in North America has resulted in a rising need for high-tech greenhouse technology. According to Martin van den Dool from Hortilux Schréder / P.L Light Systems, growers in North America are more and more interested in being able to harvest their crop year round. "Food safety aspects are gaining a foothold and therefore the acreage of protected crops is increasing. Numerous vegetable growers are looking for new solutions such as growing lights to make them capable of harvesting year round."
Based in Beamsville, Ontario, P.L Light Systems is the North American division of Hortilux Schréder that is responsible for the development and manufacturing of
supplemental lighting systems for the horticultural industry in Canada and the USA. "We broke ground here thirty-five years ago, and ever since have implemented many horticultural supplemental lighting solutions", says Martin. "Besides the division in Ontario, there is also a division based in St. Louis, Missouri. Based on this, we feel we have a solid understanding of what is happening in the sector, and currently we see that the growers are more and more aware of the demand for local produce that is grown year round."For example, in most of the situations in North America the existence of a stable power grid for the use of CHP or other solutions for energy management is lacking. The network voltages vary from state to state and province to province as well. For all of these obstacles we have to adjust the systems and develop unique solutions. We have different lighting systems from 400 watts up to 1000 watts that can be adjusted for the right voltages."
According to Martin, nowadays this isn't only the case for growers in North America. "In Mexico there is also a lot of activity at this time. New modern greenhouses are being constructed in these areas that include state-of-the-art construction and technology. However, Mexico has enough daylight available so that there is no need for growing lights to be implemented yet. Of course, we are observing these developments closely and are searching for growing light solutions that these growers can benefit from, like some of the greenhouse growers in California do."
P.L Light Systems has projects going on all over North America. "Each project has different requirements to meet, and therefore most of these projects come to fruition over a longer time frame. Compared to projects in Western Europe, there are several obstacles you run into when a grower wants to implement a lighting solution in his greenhouse. For example, in most of the situations in Northern America the existence of a stable power grid for the use of CHP or other solutions for energy management is lacking. The network voltages vary from state to state and province to province as well. For all of these obstacles we have to adjust the systems and develop unique solutions. We have different lighting systems from 400 watts up to 1000 watts that can be adjusted for the right voltages."
For more information:
Hortilux Schréder
Martin van den Dool (e-mail)
www.hortilux.com
[email protected]
North America:
PL Light Systems
Todd Phillips
www.pllight.com
4800 Hinan Drive
Beamsville, Ontario, Canada, L0R 1B1
Office – 905.563.4133
Fax – 905.563.0445