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‘Kas als Energiebron’ subsidizes Horticulture Data Protocol

Ledgnd has received a subsidy from Greenhouse as Energy Source of €385,450.00 to develop the Horticulture Data Protocol. The project has started officially on April 1st, 2022 and will end on March 31st, 2024. Below you will find the project plan that was submitted.

Project plan with phasing

Goal To develop a default data protocol for data communication between a LED driver, the LED chips and all available sensors and the climate computer: the Horticulture Data Protocol (HDP). The protocol is also meant to monitor all data transmissions in the greenhouse. This will lower the cost price of dimmable LED lighting and make it simpler. It will also ensure the grower is not dependent on one LED supplier.

Project description   In the beginning of 2021, Inventeers Research & Development B.V. (Inventeers) and Ledgnd B.V. (Ledgnd) started cooperating to develop a sensor which supports joint customers in managing their LED fixtures. The scope of the sensor is to dynamically dim the light based on the actual light spectrum in the greenhouse. This will help save energy and influence crops in a positive way. Amongst growers there is a great need for sustainability in which the transition from SON-T to LED lighting will play a large role. To use the valuable information the LSPD-sensor provides, was a lot more difficult than expected. Whether or not the grower can use the data provided, is completely dependent on the other hardware and software in the greenhouse. There is no agreed upon default on how data is used in the greenhouse. In other words, every supplier decides how data is sent and received. This is why growers have so many applications in which data is collected and why dimmable LED fixtures are not yet a default in horticulture.

The consequences of this problem Unfortunately, it appears that in practice many available technologies are unable to communicate with each other in the greenhouse horticulture. This is because there are multiple available protocols which are applied by the manufacturers of LED lighting. And they also know these problems. Every supplier will have to create their own interface and connect this to the available climate computer in the greenhouse. This has a negative effect on the cost price of LED fixtures and subsequently the willingness to invest in LED. A dimmable LED light costs € 35 – € 50 more per light than a non-dimmable LED light. In addition, there are also extra costs for connecting the climate computer and any other software suppliers.

In order to arrive at the protocol, the following phases have been drawn up in this project:

Phase 1: List of requirements

  • Conversations / interviews with all stakeholders, which are climate computer manufacturers, LED suppliers, Driver manufacturers, installers. The aim is to learn from each other and form a list of requirements with wishes and demands from the stakeholders
  • Test the list of requirements with the stakeholders.

Phase 2: Writing version HDP 1.0

  • Writing version HDP 1.0 based on the list of requirements
  • Key stakeholders will test and give feedback on version 1.0
  • Process feedback and write version 1.1

Phase 3: Testing in greenhouses

  • Version 1.1 of HDP will be tested officially in a greenhouse. The aim is to show that with this protocol lights can be dimmed, and that this information is offered through a software solution by the climate computer.
  • Calculate the energy savings for this specific greenhouse.
  • Reporting on findings of this test

Phase 4: Releasing the protocol to stakeholders

  • Stakeholders should be able to process the protocol in their products
  • In 2023 the first hardware and software products should be able to work with HDP

For more information, please see Greenhouse as Energy Source  

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