Expanded product range for horticultural lighting with a “far red” version

Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its LED product range for horticultural lighting with a new type of the well-proven Oslon SSL. In addition to the existing hyper red (660 nm) and deep blue (450 nm) versions, the high-tech company developed a far red Oslon SSL LED with a wavelength of 730 nm. For certain plants such as tomatoes, pepper or roses, it is exactly this wavelength which leads to better growth. Customers now have a better coverage of the color spectrum for their horticulture applications. The new far red Oslon SSL will be available from January 2015.

The new ultra compact Oslon SSL (3 mm x 3 mm x 2.35 mm) will be available in two new product versions with a narrow beam angle of 80° and 150°. Because of these features, the LEDs can be arranged close to one another and offer a uniform light impression. All Oslon SSL versions can be combined easily because of the same size of footprint and solder pad as well as they feature the same technical characteristics. This offers high design flexibility for ambitious horticultural lighting applications, where each greenhouse lighting system needs a tailored made solution.

Osram Opto Semiconductors latest far red LEDs are specifically targeting the horticultural lighting sector. (Osram Opto Semiconductors/LEDinside)

LED lighting can stimulate plant growth by up to 40 percent. Different wavelengths address different plant properties: blue light supports flowers to open up and red light helps stems to grow better. Thus, a combination of the three existing versions of the Oslon SSL LED family (far red (730 nm), hyper red (660 nm) and deep blue (450 nm)) provides better coverage of the color spectrum and an optimal growth pattern. With this range of three colors, the customers can address a large variety of plants.

There are several general benefits of LEDs for use in horticultural lighting: Because of the single LEDs, the lighting can easily be steered and controlled in the greenhouses. LEDs have a longer lifetime than other lighting technologies; they are very energy-efficient and thus drastically reduce energy consumption over time. They also emit no heat in the lighting direction, so the plants will not be damaged. Furthermore LEDs are available in different wavelengths and lighting solutions can exactly be adjusted to the value the respective plant needs.