Signify, the world leader in lighting, has expanded its GrowWise Control System, allowing for higher levels of automation and reducing manual labor and operational costs. This can be achieved, by automating the lighting planning for their crop’s full growth cycle, up to one year ahead. The software tool brings dynamic lighting to greenhouses and vertical farms and fits seamlessly with modern climate computers and greenhouse management systems.

Growers, like the Italian vertical farm Planet Farms, and the Belgium greenhouse De Glastuin, are already using the expanded system to provide additional value within their growing facility.

Luca Travaglini, Co-Founder, Planet Farms, said: “Using the GrowWise Control System is ideal for us. We want to automate as many aspects of our operations as possible to become more cost-efficient. Now we can easily create custom light recipes and set them to run year-round to provide the right light recipe with the right light intensity at the right time throughout the crop’s growth cycle. By automating our full light strategy during the growth cycle, for the whole year, we can run our operations very efficiently and keep our manual labor costs low. That makes it easier for us to maintain consistent quality as we scale up our production.”

Wouter de Bruyn, Owner, De Glastuin, said: “The lighting can be used much more efficiently since it gives us the flexibility to reduce light levels at any moment we need to. The climate computer is equipped with a daylight sensor that sends actual light measurements to the GrowWise Control System so we can adapt our light levels automatically to ensure an even light level throughout the day and season. This results in a continuous high-quality crop. In case the electricity is the limiting factor, we are still able to use the LEDs evenly for the whole greenhouse in lesser intensity.”

Udo van Slooten, Business leader Horticulture LED Solutions, Signify, said: “Dynamic lighting in a greenhouse is the next step in improving the cost-efficiency and quality for the cultivation process. It allows growers to effortlessly maintain a consistent level of light throughout the day to produce the best possible crops. The system compensates for cloudy weather and creates a more controlled growing environment for your crop.”

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