At a recent Cannabis Expo, Eric Thosteson joined three other lighting experts to discuss the importance of sensor control networks, power re-distribution, and edge devices in next generation LED Lighting design and technology.
New Lighting Technology
The 2018 U.S. Cannabis Conference + Expo was held in Miami from August 24th to 26th. Two BIOS Lighting employees were selected to participate in educational speaking roles, Eric Thosteson (VP Lighting Technology) and Rebecca Knight (Technical Marketing Director).
First up was Eric, who joined three other lighting professionals on a panel titled, “The Newest Technology In Lighting Your Commercial Grow.” The panel consisted of Chris “Sunshine” Williams, Founder and President of Sunshine Cannabis, Andrew Myers, CEO of ProGrowTech, and John Perricone, Co-Founder of SunGrown Zero. All participants were experienced and well versed in HID vs. LED technology and the pros and cons, which resulted in a lively discussion about the evolution of lighting technology over the years.
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Trends in LED Application and Design
Thanks to the collaborate nature of the USCC Expo, Rebecca was able to obtain the sound recording from the Expo organizers, compiling a complete hour-long video that is uploaded and available to the public on YouTube.
Some themes that came up in the hour-long panel included:
- Overview of emerging technologies for agricultural grow lighting
- Increased yields, quality, and energy savings results and trends for LED vs HID
- Broad spectrum vs purple
- Importance of uniformity
- Speaker introductions and company perspectives
- Benefits of industrial grade
- Color tuning at early developmental stages
- LED controls
- Lack of financing as barrier to entry and how to get around this
Watch the full video below
Next Generation LED Innovation
AgTech (Agricultural Technology) is increasingly digital, with new sensors and feedback control being developed that can improve crop productivity. Eric touches on the new term IoT-HD (Internet of Things-High Density) to describe how partners like Edyza are deploying and capturing massive amounts of data from inexpensive wireless devices.” tab_id=”1536202454628-3″] [/nectar_icon_list_item][nectar_icon_list_item icon_type=”numerical” title=”List Item” id=”1485457205092-10c6d6-ae26″ header=”Power Re-distribution” text=”Most LEDs have a driver on every fixture, or close by, in order to convert AC to DC. There are many potential advantages to moving this power conversion away from the grow space and into a centralized control center. This is especially true with tiered systems, such as those being developed using the BIOS Icarus Vi, where plant density and lighting are at a maximum.
One way to leverage re-distribution of power is through edge devices. BIOS Lighting has patented solutions to bring decision making to the device level. BIOS is actively pursuing implementation of edge devices for the future of lighting technology with a focus on three areas: Connectivity, sensors, and controls.
Why Industrial-Grade is Important in Horticultural LED Lighting
Digital and Wireless LED drivers
As an example of innovation in partnership, BIOS has integrated Urban-Gro’s Soleil wireless controls into the Icarus Gi2 and Vi fixtures, giving BIOS customers the option to use digital, wireless control systems.
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