Imereti Greenery -Philips Horticulture

Imereti Greenery,
Samtredia, Georgia

Though generally for most of the year Georgia enjoys fairly good natural light conditions as such, the Georgian subtropical climate offers another challenge to producing crops year round in a greenhouse.

Our lettuce is fresher

has better quality and there are more varieties to choose from”

- Dirk Aleven, Director FoodVentures

Customer challenge

Energy efficiency was not the main goal to install LEDs for the Imereti Greenery, because electricity is very affordable in Georgia. Greenhouses can become very warm in this climate, even during darker periods, like early spring and late autumn, so the challenge was to maintain a consistent temperature. Therefore the nursery needed something cooler than the toplighting provided by HPS.

The right lighting

That is why Dirk Aleven and Dick de Jong decided to go with Philips LED toplighting. “Now we still have extra light in dark months, but without the very unwanted extra heat package coming along with that”, Dick explains.

When required due to agro processes, to keep energy costs down, the greenhouse uses geothermal energy for the ‘free-of-charge’ heat. LED lighting provides effective year round lighting in this warm climate, producing significantly less heat than conventional HPS lamps, so the greenhouse climate can be controlled more accurately. Less heat also means the Imereti Greenery can use light more effectively, for example by increasing light levels, extending lighting periods, or by using light on warmer days without having to ventilate.

The Imereti Greenery is a high-tech hydroponic facility that is designed to produce a high volume of different lettuce varieties year round. “Thanks to the hydroponic technology, this greenhouse has the capacity to produce 1 million heads of lettuce per year – the same amount of lettuce that is currently being imported by Georgia” – Dirk van Aleven.

Download case study

Philips GreenPower LED toplighting

Philips is introducing an LED-based toplighting solution for greenhouse growers, easy to install and no need for water cooling systems.

View product

The flowering lamp is the alternative for extending day length for plants that are sensitive to the photoperiod.

Producing year round in
a warm climate

The Team