Tamsin, one of Finland’s leading vegetable producers, is expanding its operations by roughly 0.5 hectares. The new growing area is lit with a hybrid lighting solution developed by Netled that comprises 50% Netled Overhead 550W LED luminaires and 50% 1000W High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps.

Tamsin produces leafy greens, such as butterhead lettuce, iceberg lettuce, curled endive and arugula. They also produce herbs, such as parsley, dill, and most recently, coriander.

Tamsin was one of the first growers to invest in Netled lighting solutions back in 2014.

“We did some experiments with Netled hybrid lighting solutions in our test facility a few years ago”, explains Sakari Tamsi, CEO at Tamsin.

“We replaced half of our HPS lamps with Netled’s Booster LEDs, and we were so impressed with the results that we decided to go ahead with the 0.5 hectare expansion using Netled’s hybrid lighting solution of 50% Netled 550W LED luminaires and 50% 1000W High-Pressure Sodium lamps”, Tamsi continues.

Growing methods and the energy efficiency of production at Tamsin are constantly being developed and updated. The previous experiments with Netled lighting solutions have been proven to save energy, which reduces production costs.

“The design and planning of the lighting solutions went really well, and together with Netled we were able to achieve efficient and stable lighting conditions”, Tamsi adds.

Tamsin already has roughly 2 hectares of land under cultivation in controlled environment conditions.

“It was great to be able to work with Tamsin on their expansion”, says Johanna Kivioja, Chief Procurement Officer at Netled.

There are numerous benefits of a hybrid system in new greenhouse projects, and Netled’s hybrid system is particularly suited for the challenging Nordic conditions.

“In new greenhouse projects we can take advantage of the increased roof height which allows us to use higher power luminaires resulting in greater cost and energy efficiency, and also providing more even lighting conditions for the plants”, Kivioja explains.

“Here in the Nordics, plants grown in greenhouse conditions benefit greatly from a hybrid lighting system. We can utilize the heat from HPS lights, and together with the correct spectra from the LED lights we can achieve an extremely good overall spectrum and an energy-efficient lighting solution. We can also use the different lights at different times of the year. For example, we can use only the LED lights in the spring and fall, and the HPS lights in mid winter. We save more energy and reduce the amount of hours the HPS lights are used, which in turn reduces costs and increases the lifetime of the bulbs”, she continues.

“Tamsin was one of our first lighting-solution customers when we were developing our hybrid systems, so it was a real pleasure to be able to work with them again as they expand their operations. Our hybrid lighting system will allow Tamsin to both increase production as well as reduce their energy use”, Kivioja concludes.

More information:

Johanna Kivioja
CPO, Netled Ltd.
+358 40 584 0035
johanna.kivioja@netled.fi

Sakari Tamsi
CEO, Tamsin
+358 400 695 570
sakari.tamsi@tamsin.fi