Tailored lighting is being used to produce fresh food indoors

Global lighting giant Philips unveiled a new facility for developing tailored LED “light recipes” for indoor farming. The research center, called GrowWise City Farming, located in Eindhoven in the Netherlands is being used to study how light maximizes the quality and yield of different crops. 

It’s hoped that the research being conducted by Philips will enable producers to grow healthy food indoors all year round. At 234 square meters, the facility is one of the world’s largest, and much of the research will concentrate on optimizing growth recipes for leafy vegetables, strawberries, and herbs. Already, the facility is capable of producing 900 pots of basil per one meter every year. Light conditions for growing carbohydrate-rich crops such as wheat and potatoes indoors are also being studied.

“Our aim is to develop the technology that makes it possible to grow tasty, healthy and sustainable food virtually anywhere,” said global director of city farming at Philips, Gus van der Feltz. “The research we are undertaking will enable local food production on a global scale, reducing waste, limiting food miles and using practically no land or water.”

Because the sterile environment of the research center is completely closed to natural light and air, the growing conditions are fully controllable. Currently Philips’ GreenPower LED lighting is being used, which the firm says is highly energy efficient and produces less heat than other LEDs, meaning it can be placed closer to plants for optimal positioning and uniform illumination. The end result is to have better tasting products that are grown in a more sustainable way without the need for pesticides. 

Source: Philips