Lighting Uniformity in Horticulture

Lighting Uniformity in Horticulture

Authors: Ian Ashdown, Senior Scientist and Marc Descoteaux, Senior Software Engineer, SunTracker Technologies Ltd. Written in 2015, “Greenhouse Design and Control” (Ponce et al. 2015) is extraordinarily comprehensive in its coverage of greenhouse design issues, from...

Quantifying Light Pollution Sources

Quantifying Light Pollution Sources

time light pollution is sadly familiar to all of us. While our grandparents and great-grandparents may talk fondly of seeing the Milky Way in their youth, with thousands of stars scattered across the dark summer sky, we are mostly content with seeing a few dozen stars through the never-ending dusk of urban and suburban skies.

Defining Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy

Defining Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy

There has been some discussion online and in presentations recently about the issue of photosynthetic photon flux. The argument goes as follows: Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is somewhat arbitrarily defined as optical radiation within the spectral range of...

Greenhouses and Light Pollution

Greenhouses and Light Pollution

Supplemental electric lighting for greenhouses may be essential for extending the growing season in northern climates, but it comes with a not-so-hidden cost: environmental light pollution. The consequences of this pollution may range from irate neighbours in rural...

Light Transmittance through Greenhouse Glazing

Light Transmittance through Greenhouse Glazing

Ian Ashdown, P. Eng., FIES, Senior Scientist, SunTracker Technologies Ltd. Published: 18/10/01. Look at a greenhouse manufacturer’s product specifications and you will see that the light transmittance of single-pane clear glass is typically 88 to 91 percent. Compared...

Far-Red Lighting and the Phytochromes

Far-Red Lighting and the Phytochromes

Ian Ashdown, P. Eng., FIES, Senior Scientist, SunTracker Technologies Ltd. Published 18/06/04. Most LED grow lights feature blue and red LEDs whose peak wavelengths – approximately 450 nm for blue and 660 nm for red ­– have been chosen to coincide with the spectral...