A Deep Dive Into Plant Lighting Control Systems

By Greenhouse Grower staff|January 6, 2023

The GLASE consortium’s 2023 Virtual Climate Controls Short Course, which consists of six two-hour modules presented over six weeks in January and February, is an educational series designed to delve into all aspects of climate controls in greenhouses and indoor farms. By the end of this virtual course, participants will be able to make informed decisions about selecting and using climate controls in their growing operations.

The first module, “Plant Lighting Control Systems,” takes place on Thursday, Jan. 19. Supplemental lighting systems are used in commercial controlled environment agriculture facilities to optimize consistent production year-round, increase crop quality, and control flowering of photoperiodic crops. Attendees can learn how the development of new lighting controls and technologies have provided growers options to increase energy use efficiency and reduce the cost of supplemental lighting.

The two presentations will focus on:

Horticultural lighting control strategies and light modeling, presented by Kale Hardbik of USDA-ARS. This talk will cover the theory and science behind horticultural lighting control systems. Lighting terminology and technologies will be discussed. Pros and cons of different lighting control strategies and their impact on energy costs and carbon footprint will be analyzed. Finally, we will cover how modeling of both natural sunlight and supplemental lighting helps in understanding the behavior of light and informs the design of better performing control systems.
Controlling your lighting to optimize cost of production, presented by Timothy Shelford of Cornell University. This talk will look into what a grower should consider when designing a greenhouse lighting system (hardware and control strategy) for their crop. We will go beyond just the cost of electricity and lighting hardware, and look at how other production costs and sale price should be a consideration too. As an example, some of the sophisticated lighting control strategies developed at Cornell will be demonstrated.

Click here to register for the virtual short course.