A new, internet-connected lighting system for greenhouses could sharply reduce a farmer\u2019s electrical bill, according to a study by University of Georgia researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently published in Plants<\/a>, the study showed that a predictive lighting control system could optimize lighting for plants by predicting sunlight and only running the lights when needed. The data showed that farmers could reduce their greenhouse electrical costs by as much as 33% by optimizing their lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On rainy or cloudy days, plants are given supplemental lighting to make up for the lack of sunlight. While effective, these lights can be expensive, inefficient and consume huge amounts of electricity. A 2017 report<\/a> from the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that horticultural lighting consumed $600 million worth of electricity every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen LED lights first came to market, they gave us an opportunity to control greenhouse lighting on a level that was not possible before,\u201d said Marc van Iersel<\/a>, a professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences<\/a>. \u201cAt the time, a lot of research was happening to optimize the lights themselves, but almost no one was working on smart control of the lighting system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe electricity used for the lights is anywhere from 10% to 30% of the cost of running a greenhouse,\u201d van Iersel said. \u201cOur research began with the idea that, if we can reduce this cost, we can very quickly have an impact on the efficiency and sustainability of greenhouses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n