May 2, 2022

Glenwood Valley Farms Upgrades LED Lights for Cucumber Growing

Glenwood Valley Farms recently upgraded its LED lighting to boost production at its indoor growing operation in British Columbia.

The lighting system used in the expansion, Philips GreenPower LED toplighting linear, was provided by Signify, according to a news release from the lighting company.

Glenwood Valley Farms is an established vegetable grower located in Langley, British Columbia with a roughly 15-hectare cucumber growing operation and was looking to improve fruit quality and increase production volume and operational efficiency, according to the news release.

Glenwood Valley Farms was one of the first growers to trial Philips GreenPower LED toplighting linear when it was introduced in North America in 2015, according to the release. Over the years, Glenwood have conducted additional trials with lighting from several LED manufacturers, at times in combination with traditional HPS lighting. The results indicated that there were more favorable crop yields with Philips LED-lit crops, prompting Glenwood Valley to choose Signify and Philips LED toplighting for their recent lighting upgrade.

After extensive testing, Glenwood concluded that a high light output over their cucumber crop optimized their production. The custom light design developed for Glenwood by Signify consisted of five continuous lines of high output Philips LED toplighting linear in an eight-meter wide bay​. The installation of more than 4,000 toplighting linear modules was completed in early 2022, according to the news release.

Udo van Slooten, general manager of horticulture LED Solutions at Signify, said in a news release that his group was “proud of Glenwood’s results of growing under Philips brand LEDs and we are proud they chose our Philips GreenPower LED lighting.”

The project was supported by Climatrol Solutions Ltd., a certified Philips Horti LED partner in Langley. Climatrol specializes in creating custom greenhouse systems for growers, according to the news release. Through cooperation with Glenwood’s electric utility provider, BC Hydro, and the support of Climatrol and Signify, Glenwood Valley was able to capitalize on a significant rebate opportunity with their purchase of Signify’s high-efficiency LED lighting.