Eindhoven, The Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, today announced the launch of the Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp 2.0, an even more energy efficient way to extend daylight or interrupt the night growing cycle in greenhouses for growers that cultivate strawberries, cut flowers, bedding plants and cuttings. The new Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp 2.0 builds on the first generation of Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp and comes in two different spectral versions with light recipes for growing cut flowers and soft fruit. The new highly energy-efficient lamp is designed to increase the yield, quality and consistency of crops and accelerate flowering. Its design draws upon over twenty years’ experience that Philips Lighting has in horticultural lighting to serve the needs of growers.

The first generation of the Philips GreenPower flowering lamp provided an important benchmark for energy efficiency following trials in 2014 and 2015 at the Research Centre Hoogstraten in Belgium, an independent horticultural research center. The next generation lamp provides an optimum spectrum and high light output and allows growers to save electricity costs by being 90% more energy efficient  than conventional  incandescent lamps. The lamps have a standard E27 or E26 fitting allowing them to be used in existing installations, avoiding unnecessary modifications and reducing set-up costs.

Effective for crops

To help growers achieve the best results for their crops, Philips Lighting has invented light recipes which combine the following elements: light spectrum, intensity, uniformity, timing and positioning. The Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp 2.0 is available with two different spectral versions: one offers a combination of deep red and white (DR/W) and the other a combination of deep red/white/ far red (DR/W/FR). The DR/W light version inhibits flowering of short-day plants, and has for example been very effective with chrysanthemums. The DR/W/FR light version is ideal for photoperiodic lighting of bedding and perennials. It can extend the day or interrupt the night cycle to promote elongation of the stems of strawberries and stimulate flowering. 

“Being the first to market with a flowering lamp almost seven years ago, the Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp 2.0 pushes the boundaries of how growers can gain control of crop quality and yield for their customers even more,” said Udo van Slooten, business leader for Philips Lighting’s Horticulture business.

Lower maintenance costs

The Phillips Green Power LED flowering lamp 2.0 looks like an incandescent lamp, but is made of robust plastic that mitigates the risk of damage to crops that can occur from broken glass lamps. To reduce maintenance costs, the lamp is designed to last at least 25,000 hours* and is rated for IP44 and UL damp and dry conditions indoors. Trials in countries which use photoperiodic lighting to produce cuttings or cut flowers have reported that the flowering lamp 2.0 is much more stable on the energy grid compared to incandescent or ”twisters” (CFLs), so there is less risk of quality issues in crop production. The two spectral versions of this new LED flowering lamp are available to provide full installation flexibility. 

*Lifetime based on 90% light output at 25° C ambient temperature (L90B50, T25)