The Future Of Agriculture? Indoor Farms Powered By LEDs

A warehouse full of lettuce might not be the first place you would expect to find the next Industrial Revolution. But follow the LED lights and youll discover a glimpse of the future of agriculture industrial-scale, indoor farming.

Advances in LED technology are helping to create an environment where vegetables can be produced at scale, with higher yields and shorter grow cycles, no matter what climate.

There will be a revolution, says Cary Mitchell, horticulture professorat Purdue University. I think that in a decades time, LED will become the de facto lighting source for controlled-environment agriculture.

Farming in a controlled environment, whether a greenhouse or warehouse, has long allowed growers to manipulate lighting, temperature and water to boost yields. What LED lighting brings to the equation is a cooler and more energy-efficient way to optimize conditions than the high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps traditionally found in greenhouses.

Mitchells team has found that LEDs can surpass 50 percent efficiency converting about half of their energy into plant-usable light versus just 30 percent for HPS lamps. That translates into significant energy savings: it cost four times more to produce the same amount of fruit with HPS lamps than LEDs.

The fact that these [LED] emitters are so cool literally cool and you can put them so close, theres a tremendous energy savings potential, Mitchell says.

Enterprising Indoor Farmers

Shigeharu Shimamura was able to capitalize on such efficiencies when he converted a former Sony semiconductor factory into what might be the worlds largest indoor farm powered by LEDs. With the help of GE fixtures designed to emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth, he was able to achieve a 100-fold gain in productivity per square foot over outdoor farming for his lettuce crop.

By effectively controlling photorespiration and photosynthesis, we not only control night and day, but also provide a better `sleeping environment for vegetables growth and increase the effectiveness of light, Shimamura says.

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The Future Of Agriculture? Indoor Farms Powered By LEDs