Plant Factory Grow Lights | Future of LED Grow Lighting

A closed system of farming wherein a farmer or a farm technician attempts to achieve farm production under regulated conditions which have been created artificially is known as plant factory. Plant factories are generally used for the purpose of growing organic vegetables. This needs artificial control of temperature, light, carbon dioxide and moisture. Grow Light is an artificial source of light which are designed to emit electromagnetic spectrum which is suitable for the photosynthesis purpose. Grow light is useful for warehouse food production. Visible light has a different spectrum as compared to grow light. The spectrum of grow lights can be optimized according to plant. The productivity of crops increases by a significant factor due to plant factory practice.

Global market for plant factory and grow lights is estimated to grow at a significant rate. The demand for organic plants and vegetables has grown worldwide while the comparative supply has not been able to match the demand. This has led to the evolvement of the plant factory system which is an automated farm with advanced technologies and can produce 24 hours a day without depending upon climate. Plant factory market can be segmented into two categories, new plant factory construction market and plant factory products market. Highest growth rate is expected in North American countries, i.e. USA and Canada and European countries including UK, France and Germany. The APAC region currently comprises only a small segment but is expected to grow significantly as the awareness about the benefits of this technology has been increasing significantly.

The driving factors for plant factories and grow lights market are the increasing demand for the ability to grow food locally and consistently, paucity of space for farming especially in cities, and the need to increase the yield per unit area without harming the environment. Governments are also encouraging plant factories and grow lights for improving the production. The opportunities in this market are varied and can range from technological advancement in grow lights, combined use of natural lighting with artificial lighting, developing a solar power based plant factory to constructing multiple level plant factories which would further reduce space requirement.