Take note: The industry standard "Technical Specifications for Quality Evaluation of Greenhouse Plant Supplemental Lighting" has been officially released and implemented.
Recently, the "Technical Specification for Quality Evaluation of Greenhouse Plant Supplemental Lighting" formulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China was approved by experts and will be implemented from November 1, 2020. This standard regulates the performance indicators and testing methods for the quality evaluation of greenhouse plant supplemental lighting.
The "Technical Specification for Quality Evaluation of Greenhouse Plant Supplemental Lighting" has been approved and released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as an agricultural industry standard of the People's Republic of China. It was organized, formulated, and led by the Academy of Agricultural Planning and Engineering under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and is under the jurisdiction of the Agricultural Mechanization Subcommittee of the National Agricultural Machinery Standardization Technical Committee. Multiple representative R&D and manufacturing units in the industry participated in the joint compilation, including Fujian Zhongke Biology Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Meiguangyuan Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen Tonghe Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Yasheng Zengguang Physical Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., Suzhou Nux Power Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing CEC Panda Lighting Co., Ltd., and Zhuhai Huaermei Lighting Co., Ltd.
The standard clearly specifies the terminology, basic requirements, quality requirements, test methods and rules for greenhouse plant supplemental lighting. It applies to the quality assessment of High-pressure sodium lamp (HPS) and LED lamps used for plant growth. Supplemental lighting using other light sources may also refer to this standard, guiding and promoting the facility horticulture Industry towards high quality, high efficiency, and low energy consumption.
This standard sets clear requirements for the three major performance indicators of plant supplemental lighting products: electrical characteristics, optical characteristics, and lifespan. Regarding electrical characteristics, this specification stipulates that the initial power value shall be 90% to 100% of the rated power; it specifies a Power factor (PF) ≥ 0.90. Regarding optical characteristics, the specification sets requirements for performance metrics such as Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF, the photon flux in the 280nm–800nm wavelength range usable for plant photosynthesis) and Photon Flux Efficacy (PPE, the number of photons emitted per unit power per unit time by plant grow lights) , requiring that the initial PPF value of plant grow lights shall not be less than 90% of the rated value, the PPE of High-pressure sodium lamp (HPS) shall not be less than 1.0 μmol/(s·W), and the PPE of LED lamps shall not be less than 1.5 μmol/(s·W). Luminaire lifespan is also a key product performance metric. Standards require that the lifespan of plant grow lights, calculated or measured based on photon flux maintenance rate, shall be no less than 90% of the rated (nominal) lifespan. It is specified that for High-pressure sodium lamp (HPS), the photon flux maintenance rate after 20,000 hours (calculated or measured) shall be no less than 70%, and for LED lamps, the photon flux maintenance rate after 30,000 hours (calculated or measured) shall be no less than 70%. 
In addition, the standard specifies corresponding testing and calculation methods for different performance indicators.
The standard also requires that the luminaire be marked with at least the source mark, rated voltage (V), rated power (W), IP code, product model, CCC mark, and other information.
Plant grow lights are essential equipment for regulating the light environment in greenhouses. As their application expands domestically, they are increasingly used in protected cultivation of flowers, autumn and winter solanaceous and cucurbit crops, strawberries, and more. However, compared with some European and American countries, China lacks quality evaluation standards for greenhouse plant grow lights. Coupled with a wide variety of products of uneven quality on the market, this has led to blind purchasing by users, suboptimal supplemental lighting effects, and energy waste, ultimately resulting in a chaotic plant grow light market and hindering the healthy development of the industry.
The formulation of this standard will, to a certain extent, regulate the market for greenhouse plant grow lights, helping to guide the healthy development of the two major industries: plant grow lights and protected horticulture.
Tip:
Previously, at the Standards Special Session of the "Plant Factory and Agricultural Lighting Series Cloud Forum" jointly launched by the National Smart Plant Factory Innovation Alliance and the Agricultural Lighting Professional Committee of China Association of Lighting Industry（中国照明电器协会）, Dr. Bao Shunshu, a senior engineer at the Academy of Agricultural Planning and Engineering under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, had already provided a detailed interpretation of the "Technical Specification for Quality Evaluation of Greenhouse Plant Supplemental Lighting" standard.
