During last month's Energiek Event, GreenQ Improvement Centre and the IDC of the WUR allowed visitors to take a look at trials in tomato cultivation, which seek to save 35% in electricity with LED lighting.
Bright, SON-T LED vs diffuse LED-LED
Last year, the WUR performed trials with diffused glass and hybrid lighting, bright gas and hybrid lighting and clear glass with SON-T lighting. It showed that lighting with single LED can be successful, provided extra heat is introduced.
In the present experiment, two greenhouses are compared. One greenhouse is equipped with SON-T masthead light, LED inter lighting and clear glass. The second greenhouse is equipped with LED masthead light, LED inter lighting and diffused glass.
37% energy saving
Currently, a 37% consumption of electricity was achieved, but 25% more heat was used. The LED LED greenhouse showed about 8% light loss; a combination of diffuse glass and shorter lighting time. Normally, 1% light loss is usually equal to 1% less yield. The LED LED greenhouse 8% less light resulted in only 5% less production.
