Innovator Spotlight
Supplementing Additional Light During Cold and Dark Winter Months
HPS Technology Less Efficient, More Expensive to Operate, & Radiates More Heat
Wanted & Strategy that Increased Light Intensity While Maintaining Infrared Heat
“Lighting in (tomato) young plant production is a very delicate topic, either not enough (uniformity) or too much light (quality 1st cluster) can affect plant quality negatively. It was interesting to experience the chosen Broad Spectrum LED solution and the WPK growing strategy served both challenges in the best way.”
“The daylight spectrum is usable for a wide range of plants and it’s pleasant working in the greenhouse.”
Nestled in the Southwest of the Netherlands near the shores of the North Sea, in the ancient town of ’s-Gravenzande, Westlandse Plantenkwekerij (WPK) is the established authority on young plant cultivation in Europe. Founded in the 1930s by Arie van der Arend, the family business has grown alongside his five children. Today, WPK has four locations in two areas: The Westland and the province North-Brabant. In each location, a modern greenhouse serves for the propagation of hot vegetable plants, tray plants for field-scale horticulture, and potted plants for their House & Garden brand. It is critical for young plant producers to be able to grow a variety of plants in the same facility. This is also true for the joint cultivation location of WPK and Plantenkwekerij P. van Geest in ’s-Gravenzande. Recently, they upgraded their supplemental lighting to include Fluence LEDs in a hybrid lighting set up. HPS lights account for 1/3 of the total light intensity, while Fluence LEDs provide with 2/3 most of the light intensity. This new hybrid configuration leverages Fluence’s broad white spectrum LEDs to reduce power costs while simultaneously increasing total light levels by more than 30% compared to only HPS with the same installed power. Additionally, the high blue content of the broad spectrum Fluence LEDs supports a compact young plant and a healthy, strong root development. WPK makes the world a little greener each day. Fluence is committed to lighting the way.
VYPR 3p BW4
By incorporating VYPR by Fluence in a 2/3 to 1/3 HPS configuration (based on PF), WPK is realizing an estimated electricity savings between 40-50%, based on early results. On top of this, WPK increased total light levels by 30% due to the overall efficiency of LEDs (compare HPS at 35 umol/m2/s to LEDs at 60 umol/m2/s). The post-installation harvests across many varieties showed the plants to be more compact, generative, vigorous, and darker/richer in color. As Erik van der Arend notes, “The interesting thing about the lighting chosen by Fluence is the right degree of cooling. The luminaire doesn’t get very hot. Moreover, the spectrum is widely applicable.”
Fluence cultivates commercial cannabis excellence through precision LED lighting solutions.
