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LEDs in spotlight at Beyond Lighting

April 17, 2017, Toronto – Lighting is not only for illumination. New lighting technologies are enabling opportunities across different industries, including agriculture.

Plant growth, development and resistance to disease are impacted by lighting and new applications of next‐generation lighting are helping achieve high energy efficiency, better pest control, high yields and quality produce with high nutritional value.

The upcoming Beyond Lighting: SSLNet Conference and workshops is focused on new and innovative applications of lighting.

The conference will include two talks by leading agricultural lighting researchers from Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada (AAFC) and Underwriter Laboratories (UL) on how new lighting systems are enabling more efficient year-round production of fresh produce.

• Dr. Xiuming Hao is a research scientist with AAFC at Harrow Research and Development Centre in Harrow, Ontario.

His talk, Smart Applications of Lighting in Horticulture, will provide an overview of the application of new LEDs to greenhouses and other controlled production environments. He will discuss how control over lighting spectrum, blinking rates and distribution impacts critical physiological processes, plant growth and development, yield and quality, insect behaviours, and pest control.

• Austin Gelder is a lighting technical advisor at Underwriter Laboratories.

His talk, Evolving Regulations for LED Lighting in Plant Growth Applications, will focus on testing and evaluating new lighting products for the agricultural market.

These and other sessions taking place during the Beyond Lighting: SSLNet Conference and Workshops will ensure that designers of new agricultural lighting products or professionals overseeing the implementation of new systems in a greenhouse are able to draw on the latest expertise to improve their growing environment.

ABOUT THE SMART SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING NETWORK

The Smart Sustainable Lighting Network (SSLNet) at the University of Toronto’s Impact Centre is Canada’s largest and most active lighting network working on applications of next-generation lighting technology.

The network brings together researchers, industries, end‐users and agencies, and fosters constant dialogues, knowledge sharing and facilitate collaborative projects.