Jardins Réunis and Cheminant first in France to grow cucumbers year-round with full Philips GreenPower LED lighting installations

• French cucumber growers installed full Philips LED lighting installations using Philips GreenPower LED toplighting and interlighting
• Both prefer LED for their greenhouses as the higher light levels guarantee year-round production of high-quality cucumbers

Eindhoven, Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced that Jardins Réunis and Cheminant have both installed Philips GreenPower LED toplighting and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting in their new cucumber greenhouses in the Nantes region of France. The growers are the first to grow high-wire cucumbers with LED lighting in the country, showing their leadership as members of the Océane grower cooperative.

Unique benefits

Both growers expect an increase in production, but that’s not the only reason they’ve opted for full LED lighting. Unlike HPS lighting, LED enables growers to increase light levels without increasing heat. The ability to control light and temperature more precisely guarantees high-quality production as efficiently as possible throughout the year.

“LEDs give a better heat-light balance, generating a significant increase in production without the heat that you would get with HPS lighting,” explains Antoine Cheminant, co-owner of Cheminant. “As per Signify’s calculations, we’re aiming for 30% more production in our 20,000 m² semi-closed lit greenhouse compared to a traditional non-lit greenhouse.”

Productive partnerships

“Signify has worldwide experience in growing high-wire cucumbers under LED lighting, so they can provide us with good advice and support from their plant specialists,” says Vincent Olivon, co-owner of Jardins Réunis. “LED lighting will help us to improve energy efficiency and to reduce gaps in production, especially in the more profitable winter period. This is critical in sustaining our position in the market year-round.”

Like Cheminant, Jardins Réunis installed their lighting in a newly built semi-closed greenhouse. The 25,000 m² greenhouse will use LED toplighting (145 µmol/s/m²) and LED interlighting (67 µmol/s/m²). Installations for both greenhouses were carried out by the French certified Philips Horti LED Partner Eiffage Énergie Systèmes in November 2018. This is the first growing season for both companies to make use of the system.

Visit us at SIVAL 2019

Are you attending SIVAL 2019? Visit us at booth E226 from January 15–17 in Angers Exhibition Center to learn more about Philips Horticulture LED Solutions.

Signify became the new company name of Philips Lighting as of May 16, 2018. In France, the legal name of Signify will be adapted in the beginning of 2019.