LEDs to replace the old incandescent lamps at Belgian strawberry growhouse

Kenis Aardbeien is to switch to lighting strawberries under Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamps in the near future. Owner Robbin Kenis currently grows two cultivars: Elsanta for the autumn crop and Sonata for the spring crop. In the LED flowering lamp Kenis has found a sustainable alternative to the incandescent lamp, particularly for lighting Sonata.

The grower, based in Meer, Belgium, has a cultivated area of 3.7 ha under glass and also has a propagation field for propagating tray plants and growing strawberries in open ground. A section of his greenhouse, 7000 m2, is lit using SON-T. For the best results the Sonata strawberries have until now been lit for a longer period using the old familiar incandescent lamps. Incandescent lamps are increasingly difficult to come by, however, so Kenis is delighted that he has found an alternative.

Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamps provide major advantages for the ambitious strawberry grower. Results obtained by other strawberry growers, such as Alain Lutz, show that LED flowering lamps produce a fruit that is at least as good as, and in many cases even better than, fruit grown with incandescent lighting. In addition, the LED lamps have a far longer service life and give energy savings of around 82 to 88%, meaning that the higher initial investment is quickly recouped.

The Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamps are to be installed in the next few weeks. Robbin Kenis says that the next harvest of the Sonata strawberries grown using LEDS can be expected in early March.

For more information:
Philips Horticultural Lighting, the Netherlands
Marjan Welvaarts, Global Marcom Manager Horticulture
Tel.: +31 (0)40 275 64 99
E-mail: marjan.welvaarts@philips.com
www.philips.com/horti