The high-efficiency narrow-band emission of LED light sources makes lighting technology of great value in life science applications. In this article, we will introduce how to use solid-state lighting in poultry breeding applications to reduce electricity bills and increase production.
Experts predict that by 2030, the global demand for food will double. To meet this demand, food producers are adopting new technologies to increase production at a lower cost while reducing pressure on the environment. Most of these production technologies focus on strengthening traditional inputs, such as water, air, nutrients, and space. However, light is a largely untapped production input.
By using LED lighting and taking advantage of the unique spectral needs of poultry, pigs, cows, fish or crustaceans, farmers can reduce stress and poultry mortality, regulate circadian rhythms, and significantly increase the production of eggs, meat and other protein sources, while significantly Reduce energy use and other input costs.
Solid-state lighting (SSL) niche applications include lighting for agriculture, and such applications can generate huge revenue potential. Major manufacturers such as Philips and Osram have developed spectrally adjustable LED lights for agriculture and horticulture. In addition, some small companies, such as Once Innovations and Next Gen Illumination, have produced LED lights dedicated to the poultry market.
Many livestock farmers still use 60W, 80W and 100W incandescent lamps in their barns. These lamps are very suitable for the human environment, but incandescent lamps are not the same as sunlight. The best light for humans is not necessarily suitable for other animals. The spectrum of daylight is significantly different from that of incandescent lamps. Daylight is a combination of all colors.
一、 Incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp, high pressure sodium lamp, LED comparison
Modern barn lighting systems try to imitate the spectrum of the sun, trying to provide a continuous spectrum, including all colors, without gaps in between. The incandescent lamp effectively simulates the sunlight at sunset, producing a continuous spectrum with more red, less green and only a little blue. However, this spectrum does not simulate midday sunlight. Some manufacturers try to coat the bulb to change the spectrum, but this method cannot produce a continuous spectrum. In addition, the efficiency of incandescent bulbs is also very low, often burn out, and need to reach the level of moisture-proof lamps. Of course, the production of incandescent lamps will soon be banned.
Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) has good efficiency and produces white light, but its light output is designed for human vision. White light is achieved by generating and combining narrow bands of red, green and blue. Therefore, there is a large gap in the spectrum between the red, blue, and green peaks, and many of the red, blue, and green wavelengths that exist in sunlight are lost. The blue light is particularly weak, and most of the deeper red is lost. In general, compact fluorescent lamps do a very poor job of imitating natural light, are also difficult to clean (curled shape), contain a small amount of toxic mercury, need a moisture-proof enclosure, and cannot be well toned.
High Pressure Sodium Lamp (HPS) has excellent efficiency and high light output, with the strongest color spectrum in red and yellow, giving the lamp a unique orange or amber color. However, like energy-saving lamps, many color spectrums are missing, especially green and blue. In addition, high-pressure sodium lamps are also difficult to dim, slow to warm up, require a ballast to operate, have a high upfront cost, and may contain sodium and mercury.
LED lights are the latest light source used in the production of laying hens. It directly converts electrical energy into visible light through a semiconductor device. After a period of time, LED technology was accepted by the laying hen breeding industry. Today, LED technology and its energy-saving benefits have been thoroughly embraced; at the same time, more and more perfect LED technology gradually meets the lighting needs of the laying hen breeding industry. LED is the most efficient and environmentally friendly product in agricultural lighting solutions. It produces white light by combining blue LEDs with red and green phosphors. The spectrum is close to continuous, and blue is particularly strong, but there are also plenty of green and red. Although not exactly daylight, from a human point of view, the LED spectrum provides an approximate daylight without spectral gaps like other technologies. In addition, they also have the longest service life (up to 10 years, all-weather operation), are durable, are not susceptible to vibration, and allow color shift and color control. LED has a high upfront cost, but these costs can be recovered through energy saving, thus minimizing the total cost of ownership.
2. The application of LED in poultry breeding
The biggest advantage of LED is that it can provide customizable tunable spectrum. The spectral sensitivity of animals is different from that of humans, as are the spectral requirements. By optimizing the spectrum, radiation and modulation in the barn, farmers can create a good lighting environment for livestock, make them happy, promote their growth, and minimize energy and feed expenditures.
Poultry is four-color. Like humans, poultry has a peak sensitivity to green at 550 cm. But they are also highly sensitive to red, blue and ultraviolet (UV). But the most significant difference between humans and poultry may be the ability of poultry to sense ultraviolet light visually (peak at 385 cm).
Each color has a significant effect on the physiology of poultry. For example, green light can enhance the proliferation of skeletal muscle satellite cells and increase the growth rate in the early stage. Blue light increases growth at a later age by increasing plasma androgens. Narrowband blue light reduces movement and also reduces the rate of cannibalism. Green and blue light can jointly promote the growth of muscle fibers. Overall, blue light has been shown to increase feed conversion rate by 4%, thereby reducing cost per pound by 3% and increasing overall live weight by 5%.
Red light at the beginning of the feeding period can increase the growth rate of the chicken, increase the amount of exercise of the chicken, and thus minimize leg diseases. Red light can also reduce the amount of feed consumed per egg production, and the eggs produced have no difference in size, weight, egg shell thickness, egg yolk and albumin weight. Overall, the red light has been proven to extend peak production, the egg production per hen can increase by 38 eggs, and the consumption may be reduced by 20%.
With the formation of energy-saving, low-carbon, and environmental protection concepts, coupled with the country’s strong support for agriculture and animal husbandry, changes in poultry breeding will be inevitable. The emergence of LED lights not only reduces the cost of breeding, but also performs well in improving the performance of chickens and reducing environmental pollution. Therefore, it is an inevitable trend for LED lamps to replace incandescent lamps and energy-saving lamps.
Third, the advantages of LED lights
(1) Among the listed light sources, LED lamps have the lowest energy consumption, only 1/10 of incandescent lamps and 1/4 of energy-saving lamps; but their life span is 100 times that of incandescent lamps and 10 times that of energy-saving lamps. many. Because it is a solid-state package and belongs to the type of cold light source, it can be installed in any miniature and enclosed equipment, without fear of vibration, and without considering the shortcomings of filament light emission, heat deposition, light decay, etc. In terms of vision, chicken eyes are more sensitive to light. LED lights can increase the luminous surface, eliminate glare, sublimate visual effects, and eliminate visual fatigue. In addition, in a chicken house with high dust and high humidity, the maintenance rate of LED lamps is much lower than that of incandescent lamps and energy-saving lamps.
(2) LED lights can be based on the growth and production needs of chickens. The light intensity and light time can be adjusted at any time, and the light intensity of incandescent lamps and energy-saving lamps is fixed. If you want to adjust the light intensity, you can only change the light bulbs of different power. Increasing the labor intensity of workers, but also easy to cause stress to the flock. Moreover, the sudden opening and closing of artificial light sources every day is also a stress to the chickens. LED lights can set the opening and closing of the lights to gradually brighten and dim, imitating natural light, so that the chickens have an adaptation process. Stress is minimized.
(3) LED lights can select the spectrum according to the growth and production needs of the chickens, strengthen the beneficial spectrum of the chickens, reduce the unfavorable spectrum of the chickens, and then improve the production performance of the chickens.
Hipoul poultry breeding LED lights use diodes to emit light. There is no ultraviolet or infrared in the light, and it is the only healthy light source that is harmless to humans and animals. In addition, the LED lamp adopts direct current and low voltage working mode, does not produce electromagnetic radiation, does not cause any harm to humans and chickens, and is an internationally recognized healthy lighting. Furthermore, the LED lamp is a semiconductor element, it is a non-vacuum element, does not contain lead, mercury and other polluting elements, and the waste can be recycled. There is no pollution to the environment, and it is more environmentally friendly; therefore, the LED light-emitting element is an internationally recognized environmentally friendly luminous body.
- Standards and subsidies
Although LED has many advantages, the initial investment cost is high. Part of the reason is the lack of performance standards in the agricultural lighting industry, making it difficult for consumers buying agricultural lighting LEDs to receive energy-saving subsidies like incandescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps.
What is gratifying is that the standard is being formulated, and key performance standards such as durability, performance, reliability and safety will be set. At present, many companies have expressed interest in joining the standard.
