Design the assimilation lighting system of your greenhouse

Assimilation lighting system is increasingly being used for crops such as cannabis or tomato. However investment is very high and running costs are expensive. Choice between HPS (High Pressure Sodium) and LED is not easy: HPS requires less investment but electricity consumption is higher and more heat is generated.

Hortinergy helps you to design your assimilation lighting system with an optimal climate for any project all over the world. You will be able to define the best equipment configuration to reduce your energy costs.

Hortinergy is a very friendly software:

• You enter online the input parameters: lighting specification, regulation setpoints, transparent cover…
• Hortinergy models solar transmission, assimilation lighting and inner climate during one year,
• Hortinergy simulates energy consumption: heating, cooling, dehumidification.

Then you can assess the impact of many parameters and compare scenarios.

Input parameters are:

• LED and HPS specification: lighting intensity, efficiency…

• Regulation setpoints:
  • Day Light Integral (DLI) and minimum hours of ‘’night’’ per day,
  • or fixed monthly schedule,
  • above which solar radiation intensity lighting is switched off,
• Greenhouse transparent cover specification,
• Black out and shading screen specification and their regulation setpoints,

• GPS position to generate a weather file.

An example is shown below:

You can also define the blackout screen and its regulation setpoints as shown below.

Hortinergy simulates your project during one year like a virtual greenhouse.

Outputs are :

• Solar radiation transmitted by the transparent cover and reaching canopy,
• Assimilation lighting required according to regulation setpoints (mol/m²/day):
  • Day Light Integral (DLI),
  • or fixed monthly schedule,
• Electricity consumption,
• Impact on the inner climate and energy consumption: heating, cooling, dehumidification.

The reports are:

•  a pdf document with typical days and monthly summary tables
•  an Excel file with hourly data for deeper analysis.

Solar radiation reaching canopy and additional assimilation lighting required

Hortinergy simulates on hourly basis the solar radiation reaching canopy and the supplemental lighting required to reach the DLI.

The example below shows a monthly summary.

Impact on the inner climate and energy consumption

Hortinergy models the impact of assimilation lighting on the inner climate and energy consumption (heating, lighting, ventilation…).

The example below shows the crop transpiration and a higher inner temperature when HPS assimilation lighting is switched on from to 9 to 11 AM and 4 to 9 PM to reach DLI.

Electricity consumption and expenditures

Hortinergy shows also the electricity consumption and expenditures.

Hortinergy was developed by Agrithermic in partnership with the CTIFL (French Interprofessional Technical Centre for Fruit and Vegetables) and Astredhor (Institute of Horticulture Technology), the Agrocampus Ouest and the agricultural high school La Cote saint André (CFPPA).