California Patent of the Month – February 2021
Controlled Environment Agriculture involves the adjustment of certain environmental parameters to maximize the quality and yield of plant growth. This type of agriculture is possible year round, since the environment is designed and unaffected by the climate. These involve a covering or structure to allow for control of parameters like temperature or humidity. They also include a system of lights that might simulate natural sunlight as needed. Agnetix, Inc. has designed an innovative fluid-cooled LED-based lighting system for controlled agriculture.
In Agnetix’s design, an LED lighting fixture will be coupled with a fluid cooling system. This system will use flowing fluid coolant to capture heat from the LEDs which will increase energy efficiency. The LED lights emit photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for growing plants and can be implemented along the frame for greater coverage. An additional attachment in the form of a cooling tower will remove heat from the fluid coolant which can then be reused in the system. Currently, the design also includes a possible hydronics system to use the collected heat for temperature regulation, rather than waste the heat. Using the heat generated from the LED lights could significantly increase efficiency.
About Agnetix
Agnetix combines agricultural growth with advanced LED technology to create water-cooled lighting systems to aid in controlled environment agriculture. Their mission is to optimize horticulture growth by providing the most efficient and intuitive horticultural lighting system possible.
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