Rapid advances in LED design and manufacture have closed the gap to traditional discharge based lighting technologies and are now becoming an economically viable alternative to HID sources, especially for high-value crops, which some have called “a monumental shift”. When operated at an optimal temperature, with a well-designed power supply, and an optimized spectral output, LED light sources can compete with HID light sources and will surpass them in the near future. Würth Elektronik offers the WL-SMDC SMD Mono-color Ceramic LED Waterclear range of LEDs. The WL-SMDC range has been expanded to include wavelengths of 450 nm (Deep Blue), 660 nm (Hyper Red) and 730 nm (Far Red), which have been optimized to match the absorption spectra of photosynthetic pigments. In addition to the existing products in the WL-SMDC, WL-SMTC, WL-SUMW and WL-SIMW a diverse range of combinations is possible that can be catered to the target cultivar The following AppNote compares the advantages of LEDs with traditional HID light sources for horticultural applications.
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