LumiGrow announces a new grow light sensor pilot program

Emeryville, CA – LumiGrow have announced that they’ve begun a pilot program for the industry’s first dynamic horticultural grow light sensor, according to a press release. The grow light sensor works in tandem with LumiGrow LEDs to target the precise amount of light that a plant receives. By specifying precise light levels, greenhouse crops can experience perfect lighting conditions regardless of changes in weather or other light-limiting factors.

“Our Plant Research Group has been working directly with major commercial growers and research institutions to discover new ways that light can be used to improve crop quality and production," said Dr. Melanie Yelton, vice president of research at LumiGrow. "It’s through these partnerships that we’ve come to understand how controlling light levels dynamically and specifying the length of time that crops receive illumination (known as photoperiod), can improve quality and biomass.”

The LumiGrow Grow Light Sensor works in conjunction with the LumiGrow SmartPARTM Wireless Control System, a cloud-based software that empowers growers to schedule changes in light intensity and spectrum by zone. The sensor measures how much of the sun’s light enters the greenhouse, then feeds this information into the SmartPARTM System to automatically adjust LumiGrow LEDs and manage precise light levels inside the greenhouse.

“Greenhouse lighting that adjusts with the sun’s intensity has potentially huge benefits towards increasing electrical efficiency and cost savings,” said LumiGrow CEO Shami Patel. “The LumiGrow Grow Light Sensor is really the next logical step in smart horticultural lighting. The sensor makes our lighting even more dynamic and easier to use, because there’s really nothing easier than having the sun manage your lights.”

By having lights that ramp up or down due to outside conditions, LumiGrow is taking grow light technology further away from static full-power settings, a potentially wasteful and expensive strategy. Traditionally, High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps were an industry standard, but as with many older technologies there have been limitations. When creating a lighting strategy that optimizes growth while maximizing growers’ profits, HPS technology can’t adjust to changes in crop production requirements.

The LumiGrow Grow Light Sensor is a pilot product aimed at redefining how growers use and think about light. “LumiGrow was the first horticultural LED lighting company to introduce adjustable spectrum technology to the global market a decade ago,” Patel said. “As pioneers of smart greenhouse lighting we continue to explore the ways that light can be used to improve growth strategies from a comprehensive perspective. We really do see ourselves as more than a lighting company."