VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
The use of LED lighting on horticultural culture
HPL Series
Indoor/outdoor lighting designed in pure cold-forged 1070 aluminum ranging from 200 to 1500 Watts exceeding 4.2µmol/J. From standard spectrum to custom spectrum, don't hesitate to consult our experts to find the right light. Available from 1 to 4 independently controllable channels.
Racklight
Strip-type luminaire in anodized aluminum for growing on shelves. Mainly used for indoor and vertical farming, the Racklight will meet all the requirements of your renovation or new projects for lighting your crops. Easy to install and customizable spectrum
FIREFLY
LED bulb dedicated to the photoperiod but also used to provide photosynthetic light thanks to its high power ranging from 9 to 45 Watts. As a simple replacement for halogen bulbs or for a new project, we also provide cables with the correct center distances according to your needs.
MULTISPECTRAL HIGHRACK
Ultra-thin LED luminaire composed of 6 independently controllable wavelengths. Each of the colors are customizable as well as the number of µmols. The HighRack is mainly used for shelf cultivation or climate-controlled room cultivation.
TUBORACK
Specially designed for replacing fluorescent tubes, it cuts consumption in half and optimizes growth cycles. On new projects it is a good economical alternative because it achieves performances of over 3.2µmol/J for less than 30 Watts.
UV-RACK
UVA – UVB – UVC luminaire to be used depending on the desired uses. Allows you to limit or even eliminate phytosanitary treatments, stimulate molecules of interest, improve pigmentation, increase secondary metabolites and other locks of interest for the field of plants and living organisms.
The advantages of professional horticultural LED lighting
Reduced energy consumption
Thanks to its selection of the best LED components on the market , VGD offers its horticultural lamps the highest energy efficiency . The efficiency of horticultural lighting on plant crops is measured by the sum of emitted photons (quantified in moles) versus the electrical consumption calculated in watts. VGD LED lamps emit in spectral color ranges different from those of conventional light, allowing them to be assimilated by the absorption peaks of chlorophylls A and B. Your crops therefore capture all the necessary light energy they lack, unlike HPS, HID, and fluorescent lamps that emit reflected and/or poorly absorbed colors such as green and orange (500-600nm). This makes all the difference for the growth of your crops and the resulting electricity savings. With VGD professional horticultural LED lighting, you can reduce your electricity bill by up to two-thirds while achieving high-performing agronomic results for your crops.
Durability and longevity of LED lamps
LED lighting in crops is exposed to climatic constraints that demand high-quality horticultural LED lamps . Firstly, VGD places particular emphasis on selecting the LED components used in its lighting systems, which exceed 60,000 hours of operation . Secondly, for an LED to maintain optimal light output with less than 10% loss for your crops for over seven years, it requires efficient and robust cooling. Therefore, VGD uses cold-forged, pure 1070 aluminum, which currently offers the best heat dissipation properties for a horticultural LED lamp. To withstand the daily stresses of a horticultural environment, we anodize the aluminum lamps to a class 20 finish (20 µm) . VGD lamps thus combine energy efficiency and robust lighting adapted to harsh environments, resulting in a horticultural LED lamp built to last. VGD guarantees its LED lights for up to 7 years, fitting into the operating plan of any type of cultivation without compromising performance year after year.
How to choose the right LED lighting for your crops
Selecting a horticultural LED lamp involves a range of requirements based on your specific crop needs . Indeed, the type of LED light will vary depending on the application. VGD offers light shapes and spectra adapted to each type of crop . From algae cultivation to market gardening, research, seedling production, seedlings, and even insects, VGD, with its 11 years of experience in lighting, will help you choose the right LED lamps. In all lighting projects for plants or other living organisms, it's essential to incorporate a simple physical principle: the inverse square law. This law states that the amount of light emanating from a source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Let's take the example of a Lambertian emission at 1m from a VGD horticultural light: I have a value of 1000µmol/m²/s; at 2 meters I only have a quarter of the photons, i.e. 250µmol/m²/s on the same surface, and so on… Conclusion: taking into account the technical constraints of your growing location, the light recipe (spectral combination) and the distance separating your plants from the LED lamp will determine your agronomic and energy performance.
VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
The different types of horticultural LED lighting
There is a wide variety of horticultural LED lamps available online and from lighting professionals. Be aware that not all lamps are created equal ; the data provided regarding power and spectrum is often inaccurate. VGD offers a complete range of lighting solutions to meet most of your crop needs . We also have a design office to assist you with new projects and develop customized lighting solutions. Given the multitude of horticultural LED lamps on the market, it is essential to rely on the professional's ability to provide a lighting study, an up-to-date technical datasheet with all regulatory information, and a commitment to the lighting results. You are not simply choosing lighting; you are defining a need, and it is the professional's role to assess all the factual elements to determine the type of LED lamp best suited to your requirements.
LED bulbs
LED bulbs are generally used to manipulate the photoperiod of crops. The LED bulbs found on the market rarely exceed 16 watts, thus limiting their use for other purposes such as photosynthetic lighting. Be careful not to be tempted by a traditional LED bulb found in every store. Plants don't see like humans, and VGD has carefully selected light spectra for photoperiods adapted to different types of crops. VGD has designed an E27 LED bulb called Luciole, which easily replaces incandescent or halogen bulbs . Developed in close collaboration with growers, the Luciole is available in various wattages ranging from 10 to 45 watts and different spectra, ensuring its adaptability to different crops. Furthermore, for new projects, VGD provides a custom-made electrical cable with waterproof connectors at the correct spacing, to which the Luciole bulbs will be connected.
This type of ultra-thin lamp, originally designed for office suspended ceiling panels, is found primarily, if not exclusively, on online marketplaces. You'll rarely see LED panels in professional grow shops because, contrary to popular belief, they aren't any more uniform than other horticultural lighting, and their power output is too low for most crops. VGD offers a complete range of high-power, waterproof (IP66) HPL lamps, ranging from 200W to 1500W, allowing you to adapt to the various environmental constraints of your grow space . All VGD LED lights are dimmable and can adjust their power output in real time to meet your plants' light needs. Choose a VGD Luz Sensor to eliminate unnecessary lighting phases and provide your plants with the right amount of light at the right time, thus controlling energy consumption. VGD guarantees you homogeneous light calibrated through a free lighting analysis.
LED panels
LED light bars
The use of LED bars, primarily made of aluminum, is reserved for shelf cultivation, also known as "indoor farming ." Once again, you'll be faced with the difficult choices of the internet, with its sponsored content bombarding you with offers for cheap LED strips without revealing what you're actually buying. This is where VGD sheds light on the subject. An LED light bar must be absolutely waterproof because shelf cultivation is unforgiving of regular water splashes; a minimum recommended protection rating is IP66. The lamps must operate at low voltage (DC <60V) to avoid any risk of electrocution from high current (AC230V) . The power converters for LED lighting (AC230V to DC48V), called "LED drivers," must be located outside the growing area to reduce heat buildup, which is expensive to regulate. Finally, the ability to choose different spectra and vary them will be key to successful indoor cultivation. VGD integrates all these prerequisites into three ranges of aluminium LED bars, the TuboRack ranging from 6 to 30 Watts, the RackLight ranging from 20 to 80 Watts and the HighRack multispectral LED lighting with 6 independently controllable channels ranging from 30W to 1080 Watts.
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VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
tips for installing and using VGD horticultural LED lighting
VGD is a brand with more than 10 years of experience in the industrial world of lighting where the technical prerequisites are numerous and rigorous. VGD transposes all these prerequisites into its design logic for its LED lamps. In order to facilitate VGD deployment, integrate a whole range of essential accessories as a base, ensuring that an operator can install VGD LED lighting without electrical authorization or particular qualification. In fact, all our lighting is equipped with IP68 waterproof connectors for quick connection without tools. The standard hooks provided for installing the lamps will easily adapt to most existing structures. In order to improve the installation time on deployments of several hundred horticultural lighting, VGD personalizes its fixing hooks to the structure of the greenhouse or shelves. We strongly recommend calling on a professional for the electrical connections and associated power cabinets. VGD integrates its own installation service ranging from electrical sizing (connection, electrical cabinets) to commissioning of LED lamps. VGD offers a VGD Box allowing you to monitor the light according to the needs of your crop.
Position the lights at the correct height and distance from the plants
Remember the inverse square law: you'll need to determine the correct height and number of LED lamps to ensure the minimum amount of photons reaching the crop. VGD conducts a comprehensive 3D light distribution study and provides you with a detailed report on the LED lighting layout . Confident in its expertise, VGD guarantees results, allowing you to confidently transition from theory to practice. The ultimate goal is to minimize energy consumption while delivering maximum light to the crop, based on the plant's daily light requirement (DLI), without compromising the spectral quality of the selected LED lamp. To achieve greater precision and ensure energy consumption only when the crop needs it, VGD automates this process with its patented smart lighting technology and real-time regulation. As an added bonus, the VGD Box communicates with all agroclimatic management systems.
Use timers to regulate light exposure time
It is important to regulate the amount of light reaching the crop, allowing it the rest necessary for its proper development, characterized by evapotranspiration . Each plant, and even each variety, has its own optimal daily light duration, known as "DLI" (Daily Light Integral). It is strongly recommended to use appropriate instrumentation to achieve the set DLI targets. Thanks to its patented Luz Sensor technology, VGD possesses the most precise sensor on the market, capable of determining, down to the nanometer, the quantity of photons of a spectral color, such as 730nm infrared . So why such precision for a crop? It's simple: this laboratory-grade precision allows for optimal regulation of the crop's exposure to LED or HPS lamps, based on the natural light input. This analysis performed by the Luz Sensor allows for energy savings exceeding 45%, and that's not all; you can also correlate different light events to optimize your agronomic practices. We offer training on this topic; please feel free to ask us about our modules. We won't dwell on pyranometer or PAR sensors here; we encourage you to visit the page: Light Measurement for Plants.
VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
BEST PRACTICES TO MAXIMIZE RESULTS WITH HORTICULTURAL LED LIGHTING
Among the triptych of photosynthesis, light plays a major role on a crop. We cannot do without the others, namely water and CO2, which will have to be regulated in line with artificial lighting. LED technology has increased the range of possibilities thanks to the different choices of adjustable wavelengths depending on the needs of a type of crop. Unlike what can be found in different conventional sources such as HPS or fluorescent where the wavelength ranges and its photons correspond very little to the absorption curves of chlorophyll A and B (cf. light and plant formation). It will be necessary to choose the right colors (nm range) and the right power emitted in photons at a given distance (µmol/m²/s) by horticultural LED lighting. The entire VGD team of agronomists and plant physiologists are there to help you make the best choice and support you in your cultivation practices under the LED lamp.
Combine theLED lighting with other light sources
Regarding horticultural lighting for plants, VGD LED lights can meet all the needs of a crop, from ultraviolet rays (UVC, UVB, UVA) to infrared (730nm and above) . Based on experience, we do not recommend mixing other light sources besides sunlight. Why? Firstly, from a safety perspective, the ballasts of fluorescent and HPS lamps emit residual current ("waste" / harmonics) on the main circuit, which can affect the proper functioning and lifespan of the LED drivers. Secondly, mixing lamps of different technologies, such as LED and HPS, is not advisable, as the energy consumption of an HPS lamp is 1.5 to 2.5 times higher than that of a VGD LED light. You will certainly save money on the initial purchase, but with our LED lamps, the return on investment is achieved within the first year. Feel free to request a study and a quote. Lastly, in northern Europe some producers keep their HPS lights to compensate for heating but most of our tests show that the heat emanating from a sodium lamp is less efficient than a heating system dedicated to cultivation.
FOLLOW a lighting program adapted to the different stages of plant growth
Implementing a cultivation protocol under LED lighting is essential to achieving optimal agronomic results. With over 150 clients and more than four years of research with technical centers, the VGD team is ready to guide you from your first steps with LED lamps to complete autonomy . Plants have varying needs throughout their growth phase, from vegetative growth to flowering, and for some, even to fruit ripening. The regulated spectrum and intensity of LED horticultural lighting will improve these different phases, leading to results such as dwarfing, increased leaf density and flower count, shorter seed-to-seed cycles, shorter internodes, improved stem elongation, better grafting, thicker stems, and more. As you can see, there are market objectives for every crop that can be easily achieved with a VGD LED lamp and the support of our team.
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VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
Current trends in horticultural LED lighting
LED lamps continue to evolve because semiconductor manufacturers continue to innovate on yields (consumption vs photons emitted). VGD strives to source the best LED components on the market and we work directly with factories which mainly supply the automotive and aeronautics market, guaranteeing flawless quality. VGD thus guarantees its reliability and availability without exposing itself to the monopoly of certain companies who impose their LED component through marketing and distributors who accumulate the margins. Our horticultural LED lighting benefits from a competitive price with one of the best levels of quality on the market. The tendency of market leaders is to drag technicality down, blurred by marketing. Their policy is to lower prices to increase their monopolistic capacity to the detriment of the quality of the spectrum and the service on a human scale that a company like VGD provides. It's up to you to make the right choice!
the use of specific light spectra to stimulate plant growth
Each crop caters to a specific market. To be competitive, growers must optimize every parameter and showcase their expertise. Lighting a crop with LED lamps is one of the keys to success. The various colors available in the VGD catalog, known as the spectrum, will allow you to secure the most critical phases of your crops . Indeed, the power of LED lighting is useless without mastering its spectrum and photoperiod for a specific objective. Cuttings, grafting, fruit set, stem elongation, flowering, dwarfing, yield, fungal control, and many other objectives are addressed depending on your crop, and the VGD team will be able to offer you the right light at the right time.
Integrating iot technology to control and automate horticultural lighting
Because there are increasingly more parameters to manage for greater precision, VGD offers intelligent LED lighting solutions. In fact, all VGD horticultural LED lamps are fully controllable via the VGD Luz Sensor ecosystem . Visit our LED control systems page and discover all our solutions. Once the growing parameters are entered, the lighting system is completely autonomous, and you have remote access via any agro-climatic software or directly from any of your screens. A wireless control solution is also available for smaller installations requiring less precision without compromising results. VGD prefers to let nature take its course to benefit from the most readily available light energy: the sun. However, we know that controlling light in environments lacking natural light (indoor farming) is also a challenge in order to achieve agronomic performance while remaining profitable. In both outdoor and indoor growing environments, automating an LED lighting system, as VGD does, will be key to controlling production costs . Our teams will advise and support you on your projects; please don't hesitate to contact us.
VEGETAL GROW DEVELOPMENT
HOW TO CHOOSE A HORTICULTURAL LED LAMP?
Here, in order, are the criteria that VGD recommends:
the type of spectrum (its color range in nm) depending on your crops, the DLI (mol/day) necessary for the culture, the total power consumed for a given DLI, a 3D illuminance study on which the supplier focuses commits with clear parameters that you can understand, the homogeneity on the culture according to the arrangement of the LED lamps, the ease of installing the lighting, the guarantee in your environment and finally the advice without which you do not know what you buy… VGD provides all these elements of response to each of your requests.
What are the advantages of LED horticultural lamps?
The undeniable advantages are:
• Reduction in consumption by 2 to 4 times less
• The quote duration is 5 to 10 times longer
• The spectrum is more suitable for crops
• It heats 2 to 3 times less and the climate is easier to regulate
• Guarantees are higher 3 to 7 years at VGD
• No polluting gas is used in an LED lamp unlike fluorescent tubes and HPS, both of which will soon be banned.
How do LED horticultural lights work?
LED lighting is made up of an aluminum body and a glass or polycarbonate optic which will guarantee good cooling and protection against dust and water of the LED component. The LED component is a semiconductor sometimes covered with a phosphor, all embedded in a small square-shaped receptacle soldered on an electronic card called PCB. The PCB will conduct the correct current and voltage through all the soldered LEDs in order to obtain the desired intensity and spectrum. This energy is delivered by a current and voltage converter called a LED driver guaranteeing the correct transformation of domestic current (110V up to 400V) for the LEDs soldered on the PCB. The whole is assembled to form a horticultural LED lamp on which VGD takes care to maintain the best properties such as heat dissipation, waterproofing, efficiency and maintenance of flow over more than 10 years.
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