A novel design strategy for developing grow-lights using CFLs and LEDs

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) requires precise regulation of light, temperature, and humidity to ensure efficiency of plant growth based research. Conventional growth chambers generally do not posess spectral flexibility, non-uniform light distribution, and high electricity consumption. This study presents the design, development, and performance evaluation of a novel modular LED-based dimmer-augmented plant growth chamber intended for research-scale plant growth applications. The proposed system integrates a spectrally tunable LED lighting unit. The lighting system consists of a combination of red, blue, and white LEDs arranged to achieve uniform photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) across the plant canopy. Results indicated a PPFD uniformity coefficient of 0.69. Preliminary plant growth trial for Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Zembla demonstrated healthy growth in terms of plant height and number of leaves and early flowering behaviour. The developed growth chamber offers a cost-effective method for plant research based applications and can be further customized based on hue-based modifications.