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Grow light is one of the most important production resources in greenhouse horticulture. Light ensures photosynthesis and thus the growth of a crop. With a grow light installation you can adjust the light exactly to the type of crop inside your greenhouse. This gives you more control over product quality and product properties and you could maximize yields.

Partly due to the possibilities of LED next to HID lamps or SON-T lamps, interest in growing light installations is growing. Hybrid installations (combination of HID and LED) are also increasingly common. These can provide a higher light level with lower energy costs without additional radiant heat.

A grow light installation is a capital investment and extremely sensitive to external factors. As soon as the grow light installation hangs in your company, wear and tear begins. The result: more energy consumption, failures in performance and efficiency. While these are the reasons for purchasing a grow light installation. Good maintenance ensures continued maximum efficiency, safety and reliability. Compare it to a new car: from the moment you drive your car away at the dealer, the value drops. The inspection of vehicles and annual service ensure that it lasts as long and economically as possible. Grow light installations work the same way.

You cannot fully maintain grow light installations yourself. This is a labor-intensive job. In addition, the power flow can be life-threatening. It is best to have major maintenance carried out by a specialist once a year. The crop rotation is an ideal moment for this. The crop is removed and the greenhouse is completely cleaned and disinfected.

Annual cleaning is part of the maintenance. Lamps, luminaires and reflectors are polluted by all kinds of factors and activities inside the greenhouse. Pollution makes lamps and luminaires warmer, which means a shorter lifespan. The light output also decreases (within 5 years already by 5%) and the lamps will consume more energy. Dirt in reflectors can cause decreasing reflection value and a lifespan reduced by up to 50%. You can do simple cleaning yourself, but it is best to outsource to a specialist for extensive cleaning of your grow light installation, and can include measuring reflector efficiency.

In addition to cleaning, the specialist performs a number of check-ups to determine the status of the installation, including:

• Power quality: Power can fluctuate due to external influences. Screening the power panel prevents faster wear and energy efficiency of the installation.
• Measuring lamps: According to specifications, lamps should last about 10 to 12 thousand hours. The lifespan depends on the lamp quality, current quality and the frequency of switching the system on and off. A specialist can measure the lamps. This gives you an insight into the light output in micromoles, energy consumption and the lamp voltage. Which will result in preventing you from replacing lamps that perform well above average.

With small controls you can prevent reduced power consumption and lower production:

• Turn around the electricity plugs a few times a year
• Unscrew luminaires at random to check their status
• Check with a hand-held meter how much light a lamp still gives

There are also some small maintenance work you can do:

• Check broken lamps for the cause. For example, if the detonator continues to pulse, this will shorten the service life. Flickering lamps? Then there may be a loose connection. This can lead to high voltage spikes and igniter failure. A lamp that goes out and turns back on when it cools is at the end of its life. In that case it should be immediately replaced.
• Repair immediately in case of faulty cabling, broken fuses, browning of terminals, deformation of lamps and a humming installation.
• Our Service Engine app can be a useful tool to have continuous insight into the maintenance of the grow light installation in your company.

Can't find your answer? Fill out the contact form and our specialist Rene Mondt will get back to you. On weekdays, even within 24 hours.