Cree announced the launch of the next-generation XLamp® XP-E2 Photo Red (660 nm) and Far Red (730 nm) LEDs that deliver breakthrough performance for horticulture applications. The new Red XP-E2 LEDs provide a drop-in upgrade for the previous generation that outperforms competing LEDs by up to 68 percent. These higher-performance horticulture LEDs increase the efficiency of LED luminaires and shorten their payback periods, making it more affordable to grow food under optimized lighting.

(Image: Cree)

“Lettuce and tomato farmers in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium are choosing our Hyperion™ grow lights, powered by Cree’s horticulture LEDs, as the primary light source for their large indoor, state-of-the-art growing facilities,” said Jonathan Barton, Director of Grow Lighting at Plessey Semiconductors. “Our customers like that the Hyperion™ lights replace 1000W sodium lights one-for-one with up to 40 percent energy savings that are enabled by Cree® LEDs. We are pleased that Cree is delivering this efficiency upgrade in a form that’s easily integrated, so that we can quickly improve our product’s performance.”

The new XP-E2 LEDs are a drop-in upgrade for existing XP-based horticulture designs with the same mechanical and optical characteristics as the previous generations. With up to 57 percent improvement in Far Red and up to 21 percent improvement in Photo Red, this new generation of XP-E2 LEDs delivers industry-leading output levels and efficiency within their performance class.