Carrying out an Light Emitting Diodes (LED) retrofit of an entire cannabis cultivation facility is certainly a particularly daunting task, albeit necessary at times. There’s always the looming risk that planning and execution mistakes lead to higher operational costs, lost efficiency, or even damage to the crop. “The decision-making process needs to happen at the system level, not just at the fixture level,” says Matteo del Ninno, co-founder and CTO of JumpLights.
According to Matteo, one of the most frequent errors in retrofits is choosing fixtures without considering efficiency, spectrum, and layout as part of a bigger picture. “You don’t just select a fixture, you select an intensity target, you look at DLI, you think about the risks of photo bleaching, and only then do you choose the right spectrum,” Matteo explains.High uniformity and avoiding hotspots are critical, especially as growers consider pushing crops under higher PPFD.
The heat load trap
Growers switching from High Pressure Sodium (HPS) to LED may underestimate how much the system around the light changes. “We’ve seen people move from 100 kW of HPS to 60 kW of LED to match the same intensity. The room’s heat load changes, so suddenly the HVAC isn’t kicking in as often, and people find themselves running strip heaters or dehumidifiers more aggressively. That means extra energy costs,” Matteo says. Matching light power and heat load across the system is essential to prevent hidden inefficiencies.
Leaf surface temperature is another detail that can catch cultivators by surprise, Matteo points out. HPS fixtures emit infrared radiation that, while not photosynthetically active, keeps leaf tissue warmer, whereas LEDs don’t. “It’s a small but important factor,” he remarks. “You may need to adjust room temperature settings to compensate.”
The heat load trap
Growers switching from HPS to LED may underestimate how much the system around the light changes. “We’ve seen people move from 100 kW of HPS to 60 kW of LED to match the same intensity. The room’s heat load changes, so suddenly the HVAC isn’t kicking in as often, and people find themselves running strip heaters or dehumidifiers more aggressively. That means extra energy costs,” Matteo says. Matching light power and heat load across the system is essential to prevent hidden inefficiencies.
Leaf surface temperature is another detail that can catch cultivators by surprise, Matteo points out. HPS fixtures emit infrared radiation that, while not photosynthetically active, keeps leaf tissue warmer, whereas LEDs don’t. “It’s a small but important factor,” he remarks. “You may need to adjust room temperature settings to compensate.”
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