Major Innovation Breakthrough in DC Greenhouse
1 May 2010
Direct Current B.V. is developing HID growlights on DC for the pilot project with project partner DC Foundation (Stichting Gelijkspanning), with a DC microgrid in a greenhouse in Haarlemmermeer as testing area.
The DC project is a major innovation and breakthrough on energy distribution and electrical grids. The pilot project "DC and Sustainability in the Greenhouse" that started last year, has proved to be very promising.
The greenhouses are widely using HID lamps to illuminate the crops. When using supplemental lighting based on AC, a lot of energy is wasted because AC requires each fixture to be converted into DC. This loss is converted into heat for each lamp. If DC is used for the entire crop, one would not suffer these losses. By central AC to DC conversion in the greenhouse, instead of local transposition into the fixture, a significant amount of energy is saved.
Direct Current BV cooperates in this innovative pilot project in the greenhouse by developing the technical infrastructure and the DC voltage lighting fixtures for the crops.
DC Pilot Partners
The following organizations are cooperating in this project. For more information can be found in our projects page DC and Sustainability in the Greenhouse. In the Hague School, we have initiated a program in cooperation with the foundation work with DC to motivate students and teach in DC area.
