LED lighting is an up and coming - yet already widely adopted - form of energy in agriculture. Most farm machinery from tractors to combines are equipped with halogen light bulbs. The advantages of LED lighting makes it more cost effective and retrofitting of equipment is an easy process. No extra equipment is needed for replacing conventional lighting with LEDs. From bringing more light to saving you money, integrating LED lighting is a popular option that would be in a farmer’s best interest to consider.
LED lighting provides more light because it uses lenses to direct the light into the right direction. Because LED lights give off less heat than halogen lighting, less energy is wasted as heat energy. The more you can see in terms of area, the more details you will also be able to see. The importance of this advantage comes into play when operating your equipment at nighttime. It becomes easier to keep tractor implements or attachment heads aligned in the field, or even avoid animals. While LED lighting provides more light, it is also easier to control the total amount of light that is emitted. This can be important when it comes to caring for animals. Experiment studies have found that cows housed in lighting for 16 hours produced more milk than those in light for only eight hours.
Having a light source that uses less energy is simply cheaper. This is not only in the form of electricity but also the gas used to fuel your machinery or equipment. The energy provided by the vehicle to produce the light in the end is still coming from the gas the engine uses. The higher the amount of energy the lamps are using the more gas the engine will need to keep up the lamp.After the first six months, your investment in LED will have paid off, and from then on, you are profiting off of what you would have been spending to replace halogen lighting with a shorter longevity. The simple design with minimal added parts supports the longevity of LEDs. Overall, the efficient nature of LED lighting makes it 80% cheaper than conventional halogen lighting. Further, the efficient production process for LED lighting lowers their purchasing price.
There are much more options in light colouring for LED lights then for conventional lamps. With the wide assortment of LED lighting, you can find the perfect colour for each location, climate and machine type. There are many types of LED colours and all have a low power usage. Studies conducted by animal scientists have found that a color temperature near 6000K is optimal for maximizing milk production. The color is comparable to that of natural daylight, an environment conducive for mimicking livestock’s natural environment. For farmers and those who are operating equipment, temperature mimicking natural light means less eye-strain, making it much easier to focus and see. LED lighting also works better in cooler environments, protecting your safety and sight in the harshest winter conditions.
Today, there are endless options to think about the environment, and as a farmer, you’re dedicated to making sustainable choices. The average lifespan of a LED bulb is 30,000 to 50,000 hours compared to a halogen bulb that lasts 2,000 hours. In North America, 670 million fluorescent bulbs are thrown away every year posing a risk to the environment by exposing it to mercury. LED is a durable and longer-lasting form of light energy. When used inside barns, LED lighting can withstand power washing. In any environment both outside and indoors, seals on LEDs make them resistant to dust and water. As LED lights are not produced with heavy chemicals are pollutants, their environmental sustainability as a light source is unparalleled.
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