Japanese plant factory adopts artificial lighting system
Shinnippou Corporation has been operating Plant 808 since January 2014 in the Yaizu area of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. This large-scale plant factory covers an area of about 5,000 square meters. The facility uses an artificial lighting system to produce 4 kinds of salad vegetables.
Katashi Kai, general manager of Shinnippou's agricultural business department, described the advantages of plant factory production in this way: "The biggest advantage of using supplementary light systems in plant factories is that it can ensure stable production and supply throughout the year, free from changes in climate and environment. In addition, through advanced the cultivation management and sanitation control methods can completely eliminate dust, insect pests and foreign matter pollution, and can produce high-quality and very safe vegetables without using pesticides.” At the same time, Kai mentioned that the biggest constraint of plant factories and the challenge is equipment cost and running cost.
When the plant factory was in operation, fluorescent lamps were initially used as artificial supplementary light sources. According to Kai, the cost of introducing LEDs as a supplementary light source was too expensive at the time, and there were certain concerns about its reliability. For this reason, the initial 3-year operating plan included a study of the effects of fluorescent and LED supplemental lighting.
The study found that fluorescent lights have various problems. For example, the heat generated by fluorescent lamps can burn plant leaves and shorten the shelf life of vegetable products; limited by the service life of fluorescent lamps, their light intensity will cause light decay after about six months of use; and even if no accidents occur, only due to the lamp is broken, there is still a risk of foreign body contamination.
Kai said: "With LED, there is no such problem or risk. So we decided to use Philips LED supplementary light system, installed about 12,000 Philips LED products in the first plant factory facility that started operation in 2014. In the second plant factory, which was completed in 2017, almost the same number of Philips LED products were installed. In the end, compared with fluorescent lamps, the electricity bill was reduced by about 40%, and the growth rate of vegetables was accelerated by 20% to 30%. The high growth rate means higher yields and lower production costs in the facility, while the taste and nutritional content of the vegetables have not changed. In short, after the introduction of the Philips LED lighting system in 808 Plant Factory, production has increased and costs have been greatly reduced.
Mr. Kai looks forward to the future: "As climate change makes it more and more difficult to grow vegetables in large fields, we expect that the production of vegetables in large-scale plant factories will become the focus of attention in Japan and overseas in the future. Therefore, we hope to share our technology and experience with you to make plants Factory-grown vegetables became a common standard food item for consumers."
"Within 10 years, vegetables produced in plant factories may become standard ingredients around the world." He said. From the perspective of long-term operation, the cost and operating cost of Philips LED equipment will be greatly reduced, and when compared with other brands of LED equipment, Philips LED will win in the end. "