THE MODERN FARMER’S GUIDE TO

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING

BRIGHT
www.brightagrotech.com
© Bright Agrotech 2016
 INTRO

There’s no doubt that the indoor farming industry is growing. Each month, new farms enter the
industry, new technology increases production efficiency and food quality, and hundreds of
research projects are conducted around the world.

A hallmark of this industry growth is the developments in artificial lighting for indoor farms -
namely, in LED lighting. As technology advances rapidly, our knowledge of how to use it to its
maximum effect is trying hard to keep up.

The field of artificial lighting is diverse and rapidly developing. From the several lighting types
used through the decades (such as HID and fluorescents) has risen one lighting type with
special potential: LEDs. This guide explains lighting types, LED function and efficiency, and the
often overlooked factors of choosing LEDs.

We hope that the information here empowers you to choose the best lighting for your growing
operation, and ultimately allows you to provide more and better produce to your community.

PLANTS AND LIGHT...................................................................................3

LIGHT INTENSITY: USEFUL MEASUREMENTS OF LIGHT.............................4
TRADITIONAL LIGHTING TYPES................................................................6
ANATOMY OF AN LED............................................................................7
CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHOOSING AN LED LIGHT..............................9
PERFORMANCE OF LEDS...............................................................9
CRITICISMS OF LEDS.....................................................................10
FORMS OF LEDS...........................................................................12
CHOOSING LEDS: COMPARING PRODUCTS......................................13
CONTACT US.........................................................................................14

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 PLANTS & LIGHT: THE BASICS
Light is emitted both as waves and as
particles; to be more precise, light is
emitted as waves of photons, which are
essentially bundles of energy. (A specific
number of photons can be measured as
a mole, 6.023 x 1023 particles). The amount
of energy in each photon determines
the length of the wave from crest to
crest. While wavelengths can vary from
nanometers to meters, plant pigments can
only use specific wavelengths. Most of
those useful wavelengths occur between
400 and 700 nm on the spectrum.

RADIO MICROWAVE INFRARED VISIBLE ULTRAVIOLET X-RAY GAMMA-RAY

10 m 10 cm 1 mm 0.3 mm 780 nm 380 nm 10 nm0 .01 nm 0.000001 nm

Growers should strive to match the needs of the plant as closely as possible with the light
while weighing that against other things like cost and efficiency (spreadsheets can be
extremely useful to this end).

Light efficiency is the amount of light that the plants can use for every watt or kilowatt of
electricity that is used. PAR, or photosynthetically active radiation, is the most useful light to
the plant.
Plant pigments absorb light at specific
wavelengths and use the energy in 1.0
photosynthesis. The three main pigments
that you deal with are:

1. Chlorophyll a – Absorption peaks

at wavelengths around 430 and
absorption

.5
662 nm.
2. Chlorophyll b – Absorption peaks
at wavelengths around 453 and
642 nm.
3. Carotenoids – Absorption peaks
at wavelengths around 450 to 0
454 nm.

400 450 500 550 600 650 700

The most absorbed wavelengths
occur around 450 and 660 nm. wavelength (nm)

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 LIGHT INTENSITY: USEFUL MEASUREMENTS OF LIGHT
Light intensity is commonly measured in three ways:

Luminosity (or lumens) is a measure of how

bright a light (not limited to useful light) appears
to the human eye. As a measurement for grow
light intensity, luminosity holds little value. If the
wavelength is known, however, it is possible to
convert luminosity to PAR

PAR (measured in micromoles/sec-m2) is the measure of the photosynthetically active

radiation, or the useful light energy (to plants) at a given point in space. A PAR measurement
by itself is of little use, but knowing where the measurement is being taken relative to the
light will give you an idea of the intensity. Some LED companies do a great job of displaying
charts with PAR measurements at various points (coverage at different heights). This is the best
information you can get.

PPFD (measured in micromoles/sec-m2) stands for photosynthetic photon flux density, and is a
measure of the truly useful photons within PAR when the exact spectral composition is known.
PPFD measures only the usable portions of PAR, but functions like an efficiency rating on PAR; in
other words, it keeps PAR honest.

Collecting the right data is key to making a good lighting decision:

PAR acrossdata
Different manufacturers list values and intensity ZipFarm Row withways.
in different three box
Thislights
makes
comparing data difficult, but growers can overcome this by getting as much context for
each claim as possible. Be sure that your data includes:

Correct unit Distance at which Area of measurements taken

measurements were taken

When analyzing data from different lighting sources, peak PAR values are just one important
800
factor. Peak values can beZipFarm
PAR across increased and
Row with three boxlenses
lights can be used to focus light, but this might not
be ideal for your application. Depending 600 on crop, facility, equipment, etc., either dispersed light
or focused light could be best.
PAR (µmol/sec)

400

200

0
The distance at which 2.5
0

PAR measurements are

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1.5
PAR (µmol/sec)

800
38

taken affects the data. For

57

0.5
600
78.5

example, this graph -0.5 shows

97.5

400
116.5

PAR measurements -1.5 across an

135.5

200
156

indoor vertical farm row with

-2.5
175

194

0
Horizontal
2.5 Space (in) three Vertical
box lights.
Space (ft)
213

1.5
0.5
Vertical Space (ft)
-0.5
-1.5
Horizontal Space (in)

4
-2.5
0-200 200-400 400-600 600-800
COMPARISON: PAR VS. PPFD

photons
(wavelengths
400-700 nm)
absorbable
photons
(wavelengths
430, 453, 642,
662, etc.)

1 meter 1 meter

1 meter 1 meter

PAR (PER SECOND) PPFD (PER SECOND)

*Note that PAR and PPFD are measured using the same unit. The difference between those
two measurements is that PAR measures all wavelengths from 400-700 nm and PPFD measures
only absorbable wavelengths.

DLI (daily light integral), is the real-life translation of PAR or PPFD values into actual growing
time. A grower may know how much light at certain wavelengths is hitting a square meter
every second. But how many seconds of that light does the plant need? That’s the question
that DLI answers.

DLI is measured in mol·m-2·d-1. Notice that DLI is measured in similar units as PAR, only in the
context of one day. For example, 12-14 mol·m-2·d-1 is the recommended DLI for lettuce
production in greenhouses and even higher DLI values (15-20+) are required for fruiting crops.

DLI may be measured with

a PAR meter.

DLI describes the

combination of light and
time. It represents the
amount of PAR necessary
on a daily interval to
effectively grow a specific
crop/plant.

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 TRADITIONAL LIGHTING TYPES

HID (HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE) LIGHTING

Traditionally, serious indoor growers have relied on high-intensity discharge lighting to
supplement or provide light to crops. Such lighting provides high intensity light with a good
spectrum for crops, but at the cost of high heat output and ultimately, low light production
efficiency. Two types of lighting dominate the HID stage: metal halide lights and high-pressure
sodium (HPS) lights.

HPS (HIGH-PRESSURE SODIUM LIGHTING)

Produces more red and orange light than metal-halide and produces a lot of heat, which
results in high operating costs. Overall spectrum is very good which has made HPS the most
popular HID light.

METAL-HALIDE LIGHTING
This type of lighting produces blue-heavy light. Most metal-halide (MH) lights are limited by
a short lifespan, high energy use, and handling challenges (the bulb cannot contact oil,
including skin oil).

FLUORESCENT LIGHTS
Fluorescent lights have been used for a long time in indoor operations, but lack the intensity
for serious production. Capital expense and operating costs of fluorescents are fairly low
compared to HID lights. Replacement and disposal costs, along with fragility and a non-
specific spectrum have limited the use of fluorescents in larger indoor operations.

INDUCTION LIGHTING
Induction lighting, similar in ways to fluorescents, uses magnetic fields rather than filaments to
produce light. Induction lights have long lifespans and moderate efficiency. Induction light have
not found significant traction in the farming industry.

LED (LIGHT- EMITTING DIODE)

LED (light-emitting diode) lights belong to a rapidly growing industry with continually
decreasing costs. Benefits such as ruggedness (LED’s are solid state), efficiency, dropping cost
of manufacturing, low operating costs, and spectrum specificity tip the scales in favor of LEDs
for indoor growers, even in spite of higher up-front costs.

*Additional lighting types such as induction lights and plasma lights have not gained significant
traction (usually due to failure to present significant advantages over HID or LED lights).

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A FOCUS ON LEDS
Rapid development and dropping costs give LEDs a clear advantage over other lighting types
in most indoor growing scenarios. Since more and more growers are choosing LEDs to light their
farms, and more manufacturers are entering the LED space, a guide to understanding LEDs will
benefit growers. With that being said, LEDs will be the focus of this guide.

ANATOMY OF AN LED

Gaining a better understanding of basic LED

anatomy and function will allow growers to
choose the right LED for their operation.

A light-emitting diode is a device which

emits light a one specific wavelength when
energy passes through it.

Two types of materials, each a different kind of

semiconductor, are joined, creating the diode.

The two semiconductors are

combined, making up the diode.

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 Each of the semiconductors in the diode has a different
charge- one semiconductor is negative, and one is
positive. When energy passes through the combined
semiconductors, the electrons in the negative
semiconductor and the “holes” (positively charged
carriers) in the positive semiconductor are activated.

The negatively charged electrons in one semiconductor

slam into “holes” (which are positively charged) in the
other semiconductor.

Since the positive and negative charges aren’t perfectly equal, they cannot
perfectly cancel each other out. The excess energy has no place to go, and it is
emitted as photons of light.

lens

plastic shell
diode
energy released
as light

photons

junction
holes

electrons

The type of each semiconductor determines exactly how much excess energy there is, and
as we know, the amount of energy in a photon determines wavelength. Therefore, each
light-emitting diode emits one particular wavelength of light.

The diode is packaged as a chip and encased in a plastic cap. Usually, diodes are batched
with other diodes that emit the same (or close to the same) wavelength of light.

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 CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHOOSING AN LED LIGHT
Choosing LED lights can be a slow and confusing process. There are many different variations
of fundamentally similar products. To compare products, you’ll want to understand efficiency,
heat output, and form factors.

PERFORMANCE OF LEDS: EFFICIENCY

Efficiency in lighting refers to the ratio of light
energy to heat energy produced from a specific
energy input. All energy that goes into the light Light (Power-heat)
source produces either light energy or heat Efficiency = =
Power Power
energy. How efficient a light is depends on the
percentage of energy that comes out as light,
as well as the percentage that is heat.

The primary reason for the popularity of LEDs is their high efficiency. With traditional lighting
types, a lot of energy is lost as heat. Many LED lights, on the other hand, boast 50% less energy
use per mol of photons produced compared to traditional HID.

40% efficient

20% efficient
% energy lost as heat

% energy used as light

*Note: 40% efficiency is

an industry “best” for LED
fixtures, while the “best”
efficiency for a single
Traditional LED
diode is about 50%.
lighting lighting
fixtures fixtures
100% energy in

A second outstanding benefit of LEDs for farming is that LEDs can deliver light in a specific
wavelength. This makes the majority of light produced usable, where other lighting
types produce useless wavelengths alongside useful wavelengths. Production of useless
wavelengths still consume energy but do not result in photosynthesis.

This efficiency both impacts and is impacted by temperature. Less efficient lights produce
more heat, and high temperatures reduce the efficiency of the light, in addition to reducing

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the lifespan of the light by causing the diode materials to degrade.
WARRANTIES & EFFICIENCY RATINGS
For growers choosing an LED lighting type for their operation, it’s important to pay attention to
both years and hours listed on light warranties. Lifespans may be listed in years, but that number
is sometimes based on a calculation using a low hours per day operation time.

There are also often different percentage efficiency ratings on warranties, meaning that one
manufacturer may warrant to 70% efficiency at 70,000 hours, while others warranty to 90%
efficiency at 50,000 hours. Growers benefit from reading the small print in this case!

Growers may also benefit from reading component replacement agreements. Because LED
arrays are often manufactured in large units rather than separate, removable parts, one
malfunctioning piece may require the replacement of the entire lighting array.

CRITICISMS OF LEDS: HEAT REMOVAL COSTS

Temperature is a challenging issue for LEDs; it is important to keep temperatures low. The cooler
LEDs are kept, the more efficient they are, and the longer they last. Heat removal impacts the
design of fixtures, panels, and bars.
LED designers and engineers have several options for cooling LEDs:

Use low powered LEDs to keep the heat produced to a minimum. (Less power =
less light) This approach is common in bar and panel design and typically limits
these techniques to lower light demand crops, like lettuce.

less light
produced
less energy
used
Solution 1 - low
powered LEDs

less heat
produced

Use complicated extrusions or fins to increase the surface area and ability to
dissipate heat from light to air. This approach is common in bar and fixture design,
but adds to cost.

Solution 2 - extrusions or
fins to dissipate heat
fins help to
dissipate heat

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 Use fans and forced convection to circulate air. This approach is most common in
fixtures (which have the bulk to house fans) and is the most effective heat-removal
option of the three, but uses more electricity to run fans, adding cost.

Despite the efficiency of LEDs, they still produce significant heat. In confined growing
environments with lots of light, this means a lot of HVAC costs. (Once heat is removed from
LEDs by air, the air must be removed from the building, or treated by the HVAC system.) One
common misconception is that LEDS eliminate this expense. While LEDs do reduce the cost of
heat removal, that cost still exists and increases as growers increase growing density.

Ultimately, options are limited by heat issues. As

intensity goes up, so does heat and cost of operation.

IF THEN SO

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FORMS OF AN LED LIGHT
LED lights come in three main form factors: fixtures, bars, and panels.

Fixtures are shaped like

a box and typically offer
high intensity light. Fixtures
consume moderate to high
amounts of power, take up
space, and require higher
initial investment.

Bars come in a number of

different lengths and profiles,
consume low to medium
amounts of power, at low to
medium intensity, and use
space efficiently.

Panels (shaped like a

slender box) offer low to
medium intensity and use
low or medium amounts of
power like bars. This type of
lighting tends to be more
expensive than bars but
offers better coverage.

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 CHOOSING LEDS: COMPARING PRODUCTS
While traditional lighting types such as HID and fluorescents still have purposes within certain
growing scenarios, improved and more cost-friendly LED technology has driven this lighting
type to the front of the pack. Benefits of LEDs include versatility in their form and specificity
in the wavelength of light delivered. However, criticisms of LEDs highlight their room for
improvement, and can make decisions between similar products difficult.

Remember! When choosing lighting, you need to consider all contributing factors. Do your
research before you choose:

EFFICIENCY
All energy that goes into the light source produces
either light energy or heat energy. How efficient a light
is depends on the percentage of energy that comes Light (Power-heat)
Efficiency = =
out as light, as well as the percentage that is heat. Power Power

Questions to ask: How efficient is my light? What is the

warranty, given the time and intensity at which I will be
running my lights?

FORM FACTORS
LED lights come in three main form factors: fixtures, bars, and panels.

Fixture Bar Panel

• Highest intensity • Low - medium power • Low - medium power

• Medium - high power consumption consumption
consumption • Low - medium intensity • Low - medium intensity
• Expensive • Low heat generation • Low heat generation
• High heat generation

LIGHT INTENSITY
Questions to ask: Do claims about intensity have correct measurement
units? In what context were measurements taken?

HEAT REMOVAL
Questions to ask: How much heat will I have to remove given the intensity
and time at which I wish to run my lights? What external and indirect costs
are associated with heat removal?

PRICE 1 meter

1 meter

Budget is a defined limit for most indoor growers. Remember to factor in

additional costs, like labor, ventilation, and equipment replacement.

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WHO IS BRIGHT AGROTECH?

Starting or scaling a profitable farm can be like running your first marathon. All
the pain and preparation required to be successful can feel overwhelming at
times, but the feeling of accomplishment and increased strength when you cross
the finish line makes it all worth it.

We know because we’ve done it ourselves and helped guide hundreds of other
motivated farmers through the process. Understanding that struggle and the
feeling of controlled chaos is why we personally invest so much in our farmers.
Starting a farming business, like starting any business can be a lonely, daunting
pursuit and having experienced partners by your side makes life so much easier.

At Bright Agrotech, we use our years of experience to enable modern farmers to

grow more, reduce costs, and ultimately build stronger businesses.

CONTACT US

We would love to help you navigate the planning and building process. Give us
a call and we can guide you through matching lights to equipment, planning
heat removal, and more.

307-288-1188

info@brightagrotech.com
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