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Lettuce cultivation all the way on LED

From Boer has completely switched to growing lettuce on LED this year. Since 2009 we have used the first generation of LED fixtures from Lemnis Oreon for the first time. on 5000 m² of lettuce cultivation. In 2013 the new 9.000 m² building is equipped with the Grow Light 2.0 of Lemnis Oreon and recently the last part of the Son-t lamps has been replaced by the latest generation LED, the Grow Light 2.1 with a power of 600 Watts. The installation is completely taken care of by our house installer PB Techniek.

Grow Light 2.1 is a waterproof fixture, which gives off more micromol per joule than the existing Son-t lamps. The lamps are actively cooled with water and their heat is brought back into the greenhouse via a heat pump and air hoses. This results in energy savings of 50%. This also means that the lettuce is grown much more environmentally friendly. Because of the water cooling, the fixture is much more compact, has more light output, lasts longer and provides 30% less shade when the sun shines.
Because the Grow Light 2.1 bulbs generate almost no radiant heat, the lettuce has virtually no edge formation. This allows a better quality lettuce to be harvested in a more efficient way.
Also, the light pollution of the Grow Light 2.1 lamps is minimal compared to the Son-t lamps.

Through years of experience in growing lettuce using LED lighting, this has given us the following. The growing process has been optimized so that the lettuce can be harvested earlier. This means that more yield can be realized per m² greenhouse. The quality of the lettuce has improved so that less labour is needed. The lettuce is more compact, the leaf has a firmer and more beautiful color and the lettuce has a longer shelf life!