Indoor farming has been promoted as a viable solution for the global food and climate crisis. The important role of LED grow lighting in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) offers growers many benefits, including reduced long-term operational and capital expenditures, better energy efficiency, and long operating life. However, the industry should also focus on engineering horticultural products for greater sustainability and circularity, urges Simon Deacon, the founder and CEO of Light Sciences Technology (LST), my current employer.
The circular economy and its benefits
According to the Circularity Gap Report 2022 by the Amsterdam-based organization Circle Economy, the circular economy accounts for 8.6% of the global economy. In 2018, this figure was 9.1%.
While the circular economy is not a new concept, it offers a solution that addresses issues of growing concern, such as climate change, landfill waste, and resource extraction and scarcity. A circular economy can also reduce energy use and costs, freeing up capital to access new markets and help ensure a consistent, continuous supply chain for industries and company. By recovering resources through recycling, composting, or remanufacturing, organizations can pump value back into their bottom line.
In the big picture, supporting the circular economy means optimizing resources and reducing the overall global consumption of raw materials.
Industrial developments in circularity lighting
Across the LED lighting industry, manufacturers and researchers are exploring materials innovations to push LED solutions beyond energy efficiency to prioritize the circular economy in product design. An innovation is the 3D printing of luminaires from recyclable polycarbonate. It is usually unpainted and has few parts and screws. The carbon footprint of a 3D-printed luminaire – including materials, production, and logistics – is between 50% and 75% lower than its conventional equivalent. A manufacturer has launched an LED panel that uses almost 94% less plastic, by weight, than its conventional counterpart. To extend the life of the panel, the modules containing the light motors and drivers can be replaced without any cables or tools. Old modules can be returned to the company for recycling into new modules.
In September 2021, European lighting manufacturers will get the resources to adopt standards and legislation related to the circular economy, based on the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive EC2002/94. In the UK, Recolight, a WEEE compliance solution for the lighting industry, combines services to help the lighting industry embrace the circular economy. Among its services are training workshops to help lighting producers design for circularity and to navigate the evolving voluntary and mandatory specifications. It also emphasizes knowledge of the CIBSE TM66 standard, “Creating a circular economy in the lighting industry,” which certifies a manufacturer’s level of compliance.
For more CEA insights, see our Resilient Harvests Conference preview and register to attend the November 2022 event at resilientharvestsconference.com.
Indoor farming
Applying a business model that values sustainability and the circular economy will benefit the CEA industry and value chain. Indoor farming, which includes greenhouses, vertical farming, and polytunnels, addresses the need for a more sustainable food system, but its products must also support sustainability. Recent developments in LED grow lights are now able to recycle and reuse their materials, a big step forward in green innovation.
Typically, LED grow lights are replaced every five years and thrown into landfills. To solve this issue, LST set out to create a modular lighting solution. NurturGrow’s integrated design and separation technologies allow interchangeability of components. With 44 variants — a combination of low-, medium-, and high-powered linear toplights and interlights — the modular design of the luminaire allows growers to install the optimal μmol/J for their plants, space, and energy requirements. NurturGrow’s replaceable inner body allows growers to update, change, or change their lights as needed without the need to replace the unit’s infrastructure or body.
The recently added slimline version accommodates closed, climate-controlled growing facilities in multilayer growing applications, such as a vertical/urban farm, container, or research center. Its low profile and custom height provide optimal growth space and an efficiency of up to 2.8 μmol.
NurturGrow lighting solutions consist of four component parts: an internal core, an LED and driver printed circuit board, an external case, and an injection-molded endcap. All four parts are recyclable; customers can return them to LST for recycling into new products at their end of life.
During the operation of the products, 85% of each fixture is reused by the growers. The preparation of fixtures for their next application can be facilitated on site, allowing their upgrade with minimal downtime. Only the driver and LED PCB will be upgraded to ensure the use of the latest energy efficient technologies. Made for reuse for up to 25 years, NurturGrow reduces landfill waste by more than 100 tons, compared to other LED grow light brands using non-recyclable products, according to LST’s internal research.
The fixture’s design and patented PCB architecture allow integration with SensorGrow, LST’s all-in-one growing-intelligence tool that allows growers to adjust light outputs to optimize plant growth by using the obtained data. It measures key air-zone and root-zone parameters in defined zones, reducing the use of additional resources such as energy, water, and nutrients to help optimize crop yields.
A sustainable business investment
Balancing opex and capex costs on internal farms with a long term view is important. Lighting can account for 30% of the initial setup cost of a vertical farm and more than 25% once the farm is operational. LED light fixtures provide better light quality using less energy, saving up to a third of future costs. A vertical farm has approximately a seven-year ROI so reducing infrastructure costs is essential.
Investing in LED grow light technology tailored to each grower’s plant and space doesn’t always mean more expensive. It also has the potential to offer growers a greater ROI by allowing them to grow more for less.
Growing more with less
AgTech is not only focused on producing higher crop yields and using less land and energy. To practice true sustainability, the industry needs to review its product and material portfolios. Lighting is just one aspect of indoor gardening; AgTech innovators should consider how this product category, along with others in horticulture, can reduce the sector’s carbon footprint and support a circular economy.
CRAIG PRICE is director of operations at Light Science Technologies (LST), a horticultural lighting and sensor solutions developer based in Derbyshire in England. Price has worked in landscape architecture and lighting technology manufacturing operations for over 20 years. At LST, Price oversees project management, supply chain development, operational costs, client negotiations, project cost estimates, and more with a view to improving business operations and CEA client experience for scalable farming.
Light Science Technologies provides CEA solutions as described in this article.
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