LED agricultural lighting: problems and solutions

LED agricultural lighting heat rises again

As a new generation of light source, LED has many unique advantages and great potential for development, in addition to the characteristics of environmental protection and energy saving, compared with the artificial light sources such as fluorescent lamps or high-pressure sodium lamps commonly used in the agricultural field. For example, in the field of plant lighting, LEDs have the characteristics of high bio-energy efficiency, can produce monochromatic light sources and combinations thereof for plant photosynthesis, and greatly improve the efficiency of light sources. At the same time, the small size of the LED and the cold light source can achieve close-range illumination of the plant and greatly improve the space utilization efficiency. In addition, in the fields of aquaculture, fishing, etc., LED also has its unique advantages. From an international perspective, LED has been applied in plant tissue culture, leafy vegetable production, greenhouse light supplementation, plant nursery plants, and medicinal plant cultivation. Along with the research, there are also box-type and table lamp-type miniature family LED plant production devices, which can be used for cultivation of various vegetables in homes and public places, and expand the application space of LEDs.

Optimistic about the application potential of LED in agricultural lighting, many companies at home and abroad, relevant scientific research institutions and even government departments have deployed in this field. For example, in 2010, the US Department of Agriculture funded Purdue University for $4.88 million for a four-year research project to evaluate and improve the use of LEDs in greenhouses. On the enterprise side, well-known companies such as Philips, Osram, Mitsubishi Chemical, Seoul Semiconductor, and Taiwan Everlight have been involved in the deployment and have performed positively. There are also many growth companies involved in China, and the performance of enterprises in Taiwan has become more and more active recently, including Jingdian, Yuyuan, New Century, Yiguang and Dongbei, all of which are eager to cut into the market, and each has a corresponding light source. Application solution. Taiwan has a certain foundation in agriculture. Some large-scale enterprise groups have invested in large-scale plant factories. In addition, there are also organizations such as the Agricultural Science and Technology Industry Promotion Office, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry LED Application Industry Promotion Alliance, the Optoelectronic Technology Industry Association, and Taiwanese plants. The Factory Industry Development Association is promoting relevant progress.

Although LED agricultural lighting is still in its infancy, relevant standards have also been paid attention. For example, in the near future, the National Standards Committee issued 48 national standard revision plans such as “Semiconductor Lighting Terminology”, in which the “Recommended Standards for LED Lighting Terminology and Definitions for Plant Growth” will be included, and the National Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Lighting Joint Innovation is drafted. The unit is scheduled to be completed in 2014. Internationally, CIE's "Photobiology and Photochemistry Development Research" division also focuses on new advances in plant photobiology research. From the perspective of international technology conversion practices, the research and development of technology promotes the generation of standards, and through the implementation of standards, products can be promoted and adapted to the needs of the market, forming a good cycle. Standards play a supporting role in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial development. Through good standards, technology-based technologies can better drive industry development. Therefore, the formulation of standards will also drive the development of LED agricultural lighting to a certain extent.

Agriculture is the foundation of the national economy. With the continuous development of modern agriculture, the demand for agricultural lighting and energy consumption are constantly expanding. Planting in agriculture, such as facility horticulture, aquaculture, such as facility farming, aquaculture, and fish trapping, Other areas such as edible fungi and microalgae reproduction have demand for artificial lighting. At the same time, climate change, extreme weather, and agricultural production are facing increasing challenges. In this case, stable agricultural production methods such as plant factories will become the focus of attention. It is also conceivable that the future of the LED agricultural lighting market will increase.

In addition, from the market point of view, in addition to the rapid development of the plant lighting market in Japan, the Netherlands, the Chinese market is also the focus of attention. China is a big agricultural country. Agriculture has always been placed in a very important position. Coupled with the government's support for agricultural development, the competition for China's LED agricultural lighting market will also become the focus of enterprises.

User confusion

Although the potential is large, LED agricultural lighting is still at a relatively early stage. From the application point of view, LED agricultural lighting products have been promoted and applied to a certain extent, such as plant seedlings and tissue culture rooms, but still face some difficulties and constraints.

From the cost point of view, LED prices are in the process of rapid decline, but the current price of LED agricultural lighting products is still higher than the traditional light source price; from the technical point of view, the lack of design and development specifically for agricultural lighting LED light source, application Technology is still not mature enough. As far as the semiconductor lighting field is concerned, there are also problems in the LED light source production enterprises, and the LED industrialization and standardization are still low.

The initial installation fee for LED lighting products is too expensive, so there are still obstacles in the actual promotion and application. In addition, there are too many types of plants, and targeted research is not enough. In this regard, Yang Qichang, director of the Center for Facility Agriculture Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that it is necessary to increase the research and development of LED agricultural lighting products, such as the development and production of agricultural special LED chips and lamps, and the research and development of low-cost agricultural special LED light sources. It is also necessary to intensify the formation of a number of distinctive products with international advanced level, and to cultivate a group of research institutes and leading enterprises with core competitiveness. Carry out large-scale demonstration of agricultural LED light source, improve the awareness of innovation in the agricultural industry through the construction of demonstration projects, and build a large-scale application platform and display platform for agricultural LEDs to promote the development of LED agricultural applications. In terms of standards, more research should be conducted from the research and development and practical application of LED agricultural light sources to develop agricultural LED light source standards that are conducive to industry development and product development.

How to connect research and application?

It is worth noting that on the one hand, the agricultural lighting market has broad prospects, and many companies are eager to try. On the other hand, the growth mechanism of crops, the demand for light sources, and the impact of light sources on crops require further research. Enterprises also need the support of scientific research results. How to closer the connection between scientific research and application has become a requirement for current LED agricultural lighting. Focus on issues.

According to industry insiders, traditional light sources are used in agricultural lighting, which is a relatively small market segment. However, due to the characteristics of LEDs, its application in agricultural lighting is likely to develop into a huge “blue ocean” market, and this “ The speed and slowness of the arrival of the Blue Ocean market will depend largely on the research results and understanding of botanists, zoologists and agriculturists. From the perspective of enterprises, there is not much problem in the application of LEDs to agricultural lighting, but it is necessary to further strengthen research in the field of agricultural lighting, and to propose what requirements and requirements for light sources. These research work is also to expand the application space for the LED industry. It is an important opportunity for LED development.

The combination of scientific research and application is currently a bottleneck. As far as the domestic situation is concerned, there is still a lack of research on the relationship between LED light source and plants in the field of agricultural lighting, and the domestic research force is still difficult. Meet the needs of production. At the same time, the application of LED in the field of agricultural lighting often requires the development of a specific light source for a specific need. In this respect, there is demand for scientific research units, and enterprises also have needs. The two also need to think about how to combine.

From the perspective of scientific research and industry connection, scientific research results are not enough to answer the problems faced by the industry. The demand of the industry is difficult to obtain the support of scientific research forces. The two sides also need to enhance interaction and trust. "From the perspective of scientific research and innovation, there are also structural defects in talents and teams, knowledge and disciplines, difficulties in concepts and ideas, content and goals, and self-enclosure. We should enrich research power, brainstorm ideas, and do top-notch with industry needs and directions. From the perspective of industrial innovation, it also faces difficulties such as insufficient innovation power and worrying about the innovation environment. It should be based on the strength of the enterprise itself, and at the same time abandon the concept of 'lights and lights', and make plant (biological) lighting systems, Doing equipment and doing system solutions for integrating plant (biological) cultivation techniques," Xu Zhigang suggested.

As one industry insider said, the agricultural lighting market is not a single LED lighting market, but a multi-disciplinary market. So how can scientific research and application be combined? At present, for the combination of the two, the way the industry adopts is more importantly to cooperate with scientific research institutions. For example, Philips' approach is to develop a lighting solution that meets customer needs through close cooperation with partners. In the process, it encourages partners to provide a total solution, develop special LED products according to crop needs and planting environment, and develop and explore together with growers and their suppliers. Track and understand the progress of the project and give timely advice on the design of the lighting solution, the installation consultant of the project and the support in the application to ensure the feasibility and integrity of the lighting solution.

Some experts in the industry said that for agricultural lighting, it is necessary to pay attention to research ideas, on the one hand, the mechanism research; for example, what kind of light, illumination time, plant growth mechanism, etc. are needed for agricultural lighting, and on the other hand, for agricultural lighting needs. Lamp research. The work in these two aspects is best done by people who do LED applications and those who do lighting and lighting. They clearly divide their work and give full play to their strengths. In the cooperation between scientific research and application, it is necessary to explore a more reasonable and effective way of the division of labor and the distribution of results.