The Gavita advantage

Photos courtesy of Gavita

Choosing which kind of lighting fixture to use in the greenhouse isn’t simple. Many growers use HPS lighting fixtures to get the job done, but there may be a better option.

According to Brandon Robinson, technical services engineer for Hawthorne’s lighting category, there are several advantages to using LED lights in the greenhouse, especially the Gavita CT1930e LED fixture.

For example, the Gavita 1930e LED fixtures can provide the same quality and intensity of light as HPS fixtures, while consuming fewer watts. The Gavita 1930e “was designed specifically to have the same optical output and total PPF or total micromole output as our industry standard Gavita 1000W double ended HPS fixture,” Robinson explains. “Whatever kind of light levels you are currently getting, and whatever distribution of that light you are getting in your greenhouse, it will all stay the same. The difference is, now I have a broad spectrum and I'm producing all that light using 20% fewer watts than the HPS system was.”

Another benefit of switching to Gavita 1930e LEDs is how they handle ambient temperatures. “Managing ambient temperatures in greenhouses is always an issue,” Robinson says. Because heat rises, the temperature at the ceiling level where the lights are is often higher than the temperature at the floor level, which can damage some lights. But the Gavita CT1930e light has a higher ambient temperature rating than standard HPS fixtures, so it can operate at higher ambient temperatures without getting damaged. The Gavita CT1930e is also IP66 rated, meaning that it is resistant to hard particles and water, which gives it another advantage over HPS lights.

Growers that want to use Gavita LED lights have several options when it comes to installation. If a grower is building a brand-new greenhouse from the ground up, Gavita will install the lighting system into the greenhouse. There are a few different options for growers who want to install Gavita CT1930e lights in preexisting greenhouses, one of which Robinson refers to as retrofitting, where a grower already has lighting fixtures in the positions they want, and they just want to replace those fixtures with new Gavita LEDs in all or some of those same spots.

Gavita’s team reviews growers' lighting needs on a case-by-case basis, and they are more than happy to help growers decide what is best for them. “It really just depends on your situation,” Robinson says. “What is your goal? Are you just trying to reduce power? Are you trying to increase light? Maybe trying to change the spectrum? What it comes down to is, what's the goal? And we'll find a solution that fits that.”