Over the years, many LED-based light sources have been developed, built and tested for various crops in the horticultural sector. The first step was taken in 2006 from the sciences point of view. However, this light source did not achieve an optimal result in practical situation. The housing was too large, the efficiency too low and there was a waste of energy involved.

Input from practice

The distance between the developers and the growers proved too great in this development process to achieve a light source that both parties would be happy with. To bridge this distance, growers were involved in trials in Demokwekerij Westland, where they could give active input. This showed that the growers had clear wishes:

  • The growers did not want a glorified streetlamp, but a light source that had efficient interaction with the daylight and could therefore be tailored to the crop. In addition, there was a desire to be able to dim the light source instead of working with a checkerboard circuit.

  • The grow lamp had to emit as much light as possible within the light spectrum of the plant in a small housing. This is to keep the shade spot as small as possible and to have minimal light interception.

  • The fans for cooling the light source had to be used for heating the plant heads in winter. In the summer they had to be used for cooling.

  • The maintenance costs per square meter had to be minimal.

  • The grow lamp had to be able to be connected to the horticultural computer.

LED lamp wit licht

The search continued

With this knowledge, the lamp was further optimized in the years that followed. It was not an instant success, as previous light sources didn't meet the standards. Progress was made with the predecessor of the CLX V1000. This was used among others in in the tomato cultivation, where it could be seen that much more yield per square meter could be achieved. This gave the reason to further optimize the light source.

Extensive testing

Through trial and error and in good cooperation with growers, the CLX V1000 light source has been created. The knowledge acquired over the past 10 years forms the basis for the current fixture. And after extensive testing, the light source is now ready to enter the market. Want to know more about the specifications of the CLX V1000 and the ongoing studies at the World Horti Center? Sign up for the newsletter to be the first to know about the latest results.