Can CEA Growers Be Offered Better Lighting and Control Systems?

GLASE consortium is connecting different segments of the controlled environment agriculture industry to create new opportunities for technology development and commercialization.

Technologies underlying horticultural lighting and control systems are rapidly evolving providing academics and private companies new tools with value-added applications in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities. The improved capabilities offered by new integrated lighting systems are expanding the market opportunities for lighting, sensing and control companies.

The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is bringing together industries and researchers from different sectors in an open platform to integrate advanced energy-efficient LED lighting with improved environmental controls for more efficient and sustainable greenhouse production.

GLASE addresses the following industries:

• Basic manufacturing: Large manufacturing companies serving a broader market beyond horticultural applications interested in serving the CEA market.
• Lighting, sensing and controls: Product and service companies providing greenhouse growers with systems and controls used for crop production and greenhouse management operations.
• CEA producers: All controlled environmental agricultural production facilities, including greenhouses, indoor farms and urban agriculture.
• Retailers: Food and ornamental crop vendors buying directly or indirectly from CEA producers.
• Auxiliary companies: A broad range of service providers, trade associations, government and private agencies, working to support the other segments of the CEA supply chain.
• Policy and regulatory: Public and private agencies developing horticultural lighting standards and regulations and energy rebate programs.

Led by Cornell University, the Center for Lighting and Applications Systems (LESA) and Rutgers University, GLASE is working with its industry members to de-risk technology development and accelerate market adoption. Identifying existing technology gaps within and across different industry sectors, GLASE members from the basic manufacturing and lighting, sensing and controls segments are exploring commercial opportunities based on similar and complementary technology.
 
Guided by both the needs of CEA producers and GLASE researchers’ findings new technologies will be validated through multi-phase processes from scientific proof of concepts to implementation in commercial greenhouses. The integrated areas of research ranges from the development of high-efficiency dynamic LED systems and spectrum/irradiance optimization based on plant sensing and environmental conditions to integrated lighting, shade, carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and humidity control systems. Click here to find the GLASE detailed research program

For more information, please visit the GLASE website at www.glase.org or contact GLASE executive director Erico Mattos at em796@cornell.edu.