Under-canopy lighting is making headlines as a solution for improving the quality of the so-called B buds. As this technology gained more attention, many lighting companies started adding under-canopy lighting options to their lineups. However, there's one company that has been focusing exclusively on under-canopy lighting. "We don't do any top lighting," said Tim Crowell, founder of Faven Lighting. "I've been doing research on under-canopy since 2020."
Tim was introduced to LEDs at UC Davis. After graduation, he joined one of the biggest cannabis companies in California, specifically in their R&D department, where he started conducting under-canopy trials.
© Faven Lighting
When he started those trials, he wasn't particularly convinced under-canopy lighting could work. "Science kind of points to it not working," he remarks. "We did trials in commercial settings. The first room that came down had a 50% increase in yield, with great quality too." That's when his mindset on under-canopy lighting shifted. "I thought it was the dumbest thing ever. From the jump, I didn't really like that we had to take care of an additional piece of equipment in the grow, and under-canopy seemed like a huge pain in the neck too. However, the first trial was excellent. I still remember - it was Christmas Eve 2020 - when we got the first yield data. I looked at those, and I was shocked to see that we hit quality. We were just breaking all the records company-wide. I think the cannabis plant really breaks all traditional ag norms, generally speaking. So, in hindsight, it shouldn't have been surprising that the trial results were fantastic."
© Faven Lighting
The start of under canopy lighting
The idea of under-canopy lighting originally comes from tomatoes and peppers. "These are long-flowering plants, and they keep fruiting. Since they grow on vines, some growers utilize under-canopy lighting hung inside the canopy itself. That really works to redistribute energy to areas of the plant that can use it more efficiently."
And when it comes to cannabis, things get even more exciting. "It makes the final product very uniform - in color, maturity, and structure - with top buds like bottom buds. In other words, it's reducing any low-value skews, with a uniformity that is particularly relevant for GMP."
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Just like cannabis growers are at the top of the charts in LED adoption among CEA growers, the same goes for under-canopy. "We've got the biggest publicly traded companies and the little guys buying Faven. Under-canopy is a product for everybody. That said, if you manage to get into the medical grows, you can get into any type of cannabis grows. Those growers set the trends."
Using it efficiently
Being something relatively new, Faven and Tim are very much aware that growers need guidance to unlock the potential of this technology. "We do spectrum balancing," he explains. "Top-light LEDs are very white. They have a broad spectrum with around 40% red. Cannabis, however, craves red, and LEDs may struggle there. So if a grower has a LED that is top-red, we put 80% red underneath, giving a much fuller spectrum to the plant. We firmly believe you can run a 40% bottom light, but you're really leaving quality on the table - that's the reason why we do spectrum balancing. We've run tons of trials to see what works best, and all of that knowledge is in a guide that goes together with our under-canopy fixtures."
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The company has a base model, R6 and R8, that was rolled out two years ago. "It's the same light but with a different spectrum. In June, we are dropping a spectrum-controlled and independent far-red channel lighting solution named Chroma. That will allow you to control the balance between red and white, so you can push a deeper red or no red at all, plus the independent far-red channel that trials show can be extremely beneficial."
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According to Tim, under-canopy lighting is taking over the industry, and within a year and a half, every grower will have it in their facility. "We are getting a global reach in a very organic way. We've been in Canada for over a year, with the U.S. being our biggest market, of course. At the same time, you can find our under-canopy fixtures in Australia, the U.K., and Spain. Currently, we are in talks with growers in Germany, Czechia, and South Africa. As growers get more educated on the benefits of under-canopy lighting, you'll see that it won't be long until everybody has some form of under-canopy lighting in their grow."
For more information:
Faven Lighting
favenlighting.com