LED Lighting in Horticulture

Solid-state lighting based on the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is potentially one of the biggest advancements in horticultural lighting in decades. LEDs can play a variety of roles in horticultural lighting, including use in controlled environment research, lighting for tissue culture, and supplemental and photoperiod lighting for greenhouses. LED lighting systems have several unique advantages over existing horticultural lighting, including the ability to control spectral composition, the ability to produce very high light levels with low radiant heat output when cooled properly, and the ability to maintain useful light output for years without replacement. LEDs are the first light source to have the capability of true spectral composition control, allowing wavelengths to be matched to plant photoreceptors to provide more optimal production and to influence plant morphology and composition. Because they are solid-state devices, LEDs are easily integrated into digital control systems, facilitating special lighting programs such as “daily light integral” lighting and sunrise and sunset simulations. LEDs are safer to operate than current lamps because they do not have glass envelopes or high touch temperatures, and they do not contain mercury. The first sustained work with LEDs as a source of plant lighting occurred in the mid-1980s to support the development of new lighting systems to be used in plant growth systems designed for research on the space shuttle and space station. These systems progressed from simple red-only LED arrays using the limited components available at the time to high-density, multicolor LED chip-on-board devices. As light output increases while device costs decrease, LEDs continue to move toward becoming economically feasible for even large-scale horticultural lighting applications.