Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Plant Research with LED Technology

Societal challenges that need to be urgently addressed include food security and the detrimental effects that climate change has on agriculture. Plant research is of central importance in this context as crops provide most of the food that humans and their life-stock consume. Unfortunately, plant research is energy intensive. Growth rooms must be kept at constant temperatures to provide stable environmental conditions throughout the year and lighting must be sufficiently strong to ensure that the plants can sustain themselves through photosynthesis.

When we set up new plant growth rooms in the basement of our institute almost 20 years ago, we only had access to conventional light fittings with fluorescent tubes. These lights were of high wattage and the ballasts of the fittings emitted heat that had to be removed from the rooms by air-conditioning units.

In 2010, we first considered replacing the standard fluorescent lighting we had with LEDs, which had become more common then but were very expensive. Together with a lighting company, we tested several types of LEDs with different light qualities and intensities to identify one that is suitable for our plants. Unfortunately, after we had successfully completed this work, no funds were available to buy these LEDs. Only in 2014, after the College had set aside some money for energy improvements, were we able to start swapping fluorescent tubes with LEDs. This process continued over a number of years, as additional funds became available, and we finally reached the point where all the old lights had been replaced.

In recent years, we acquired additional plant growth space in the institute and while refurbishing the rooms, we took the opportunity to replace the old lighting with state-of-the-art LEDs. We estimate that through this work, we reduced our energy consumption for the lighting alone by about 80%. Additional energy savings resulted from the fact that the air-condition units in the plant growth rooms have to work less hard because the new light fittings do not emit as much heat as the old ones.

Looking back at the improvements we have made over the years, it is clear that this work would not have been possible without the financial support from the College. We also greatly benefitted from the assistance of the Buildings Office as well as from the expertise of companies specialized in lighting.

Prof Frank Wellmer, Department of Genetics