Kiepflower Nursery has just taken a big step in terms of energy thanks to the new lighting installation from Hortilux, with whom the company has had a good partnership for many years. Co-owner of Kiepflower, Albert Kiep tells us more about it.
New installation
During 2022, the nursery decided to invest in full-LED lighting in two of their greenhouses, one of 4.8 hectares and one of 2 hectares. At that time, the results of the chrysanthemum cultivation trial under full-LED at Delphy were also announced. This, together with the energy crisis, provided the conviction to make the investment step this year.
"Previously, an 80 μmol LED and an 80 μmol SON-T installation hung in two of our greenhouses. We wanted to change this, and in consultation with Hortilux, we came up with a good light distribution. Each greenhouse will have an 80 μmol LED installation, a 110 μmol LED installation, and a 7 μmol far-red installation."
But the SON-T installation was also used in winter to help maintain the temperature during periods when the screen was open, something that is really necessary when growing spray chrysanthemums. With the LED installation, they have to use the top and bottom netting to heat a little more for this reason.
"Because we no longer have a SON-T installation and the chrysanthemums are grateful for a bit of far-red light in the winter in order to create sufficient length, we decided to install a far-red installation. Following the tests at Delphy, it appears that this is sufficient to get more length in the chrysanthemum crop."
Energy saving
The new installation is not only an investment in sustainability but also provides the grower with reasonable energy savings. "The increase from 80 μmol SON-T to 110 μmol LED reduces our power consumption by 35% and gives a 37% higher light output. The two LED systems together provide more flexibility in the energy market and can also be used to achieve higher branch production of about 15% in winter."
For more information:
Albert Kiep 
Kiepflower
Waalbandijk 3
5313 AJ, Nieuwaal
Tel: (+31)418 569000
[email protected]
kiepflower.nl