Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1475713
30 Connected LED Lighting Solutions Interconnecting Future Indoor Farming Indoor horticulture lighting presents different challenges than other lighting applications. Typically, an indoor horticulture environment is humid with a mix of chemicals and organic material, which can come into contact with the light sources, fixtures, and control electronics. An indoor horticulture installation is often added to a warehouse, though new indoor horticulture-specific builds have been built. This means that the space may not be optimized for electrical power and control routing. Moreover, it is often desirable to have a modular indoor horticulture setup near grow beds. Hence, lighting can be changed out, rearranged, or otherwise reconfigured depending on the life cycle of plants or if other crops are being added or removed. With traditional HID lighting, AC electricity is routed throughout the horticulture setup to power each light source. Given that some control is desirable AC dimmers, contactors, and/or relays may be installed. On the other hand, LEDs are direct current (DC) driven, which means that AC to DC (AC/DC) inverters are needed, which usually consist of a rectifier and a DC to DC (DC/ DC) switching converter for optimum efficiency. Depending on the LED fixture, the necessary conversion and control electronics may be embedded in the LED light fixture and only need a standard AC line interconnect for the fixture. The internal interconnect for an LED light fixture combines control wiring harnesses, board-to-board connectors, grid-to-fixture connectors, and related safety electronics interconnect. Safety & Regulatory Standards In the United States, there is a relatively new special provision for horticulture lighting equipment, which aims to ensure electrical safety for workers and property. According to the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) Part XVI Special provisions for Horticulture lighting equipment, the special provisions include parts discussion listing, permitted locations, flexible cords, fittings and connectors, grounding, Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI), support, and hazardous areas. Notably, special provision 410.180 Fittings and Connectors states," Fittings and connectors attached to flexible cords shall be provided as part of a listed horticultural lighting equipment device or system and installed in accordance with the instructions provided as part of that listing." The appropriate indoor horticulture lighting wiring and connection types are covered by a relatively new standard by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) 8800, published in 2019. UL 8800 outlines the testing requirements for the various performance and safety features for horticulture lighting. These standards are used to ensure safety by requiring that any product marketed or sold in the United States is certified by an OSHA NRTL or SCC-recognized organization to ANSI/CAN/UL 8800 standard that is directly applicable to horticultural lighting products. Lighting can be changed out, rearranged, or otherwise reconfigured depending on the life cycle of plants or if other crops are being added or removed. " " LEARN MORE > Lumileds LUXEON 5050 High-Power LEDs LEARN MORE > TE Connectivity NECTOR S Power System