Within the same greenhouse there are differences between sections. The crops' requirements change based on factors such as the cultivar, the season and even the angle at which the sunlight enters the greenhouse.
Multi-zone lighting lets you apply a different lighting treatment in each area, so you can grow what you want, when you want, without compromise.
What is multi-zone greenhouse lighting ?
When you split a greenhouse into zones, you stop forcing one recipe on every plant. Each zone runs its own recipe so you can match the light to the physiology and market timing of your crops. This includes:
- Spectrum: Fine-tuning ratios of red, blue, green, and far-red.
- Intensity: Adjusting PPDF/DLI targets.
- Photoperiod: Setting start/stop times and ramping schedules.
- Season strategy: Providing specific report for winter vs. summer.
Think of it as multiple greenhouses under one roof, all coordinated by a single platform.
Why single-zone systems fall short.
If you’ve ever had to sacrifice one crop to keep another happy, then you’ve experienced the limitations of a single lighting set up. Over time, the trade-offs result in wasted energy, uneven growth, and compromise the production.
- One setting can't serve different cultivars or growth stages.
- Some areas are over-lit while others are under-lit, wasting energy and yield.
- You're locked into crops with similar light needs.
- The system cannot adapt to seasonal variability.
How Sollum's advanced dynamic LED solution makes zoning simple.
Zone by zone control is easy with Sollum’s advanced dynamic solution. It combines three elements that work together to simplify your operations:
- Smart fixtures: Our dynamic LEDs' per-channel control fine-tunes the full spectrum.
- Control platform (SUN as a Service®): Our AI-based cloud platform automates schedules, adapts output to ambient light, and houses crop/growth stage/region recipes.
- 360 Support: Our LED lighting cloud platform notifies us of any changes in your system 24/7. Sollum's team of agronomic and technical experts is also available by phone, email and on site, from planning to harvest.
What this unlocks day to day: Full spectrum control.
Sollum’s advanced dynamic LEDs adjust every color in the light spectrum independently. This level of control allows you to trigger specific plant responses:
- Blue: structure and vegetative growth
- Red: flowering and fruit load
- Green: canopy penetration and visibility
- Far-red: morphology responses
Our technology also allows for smooth ramps (gentle sunrise, productive midday, and controlled sunset), parallel schedules with different photoperiods across zones, and a single dashboard for viewing energy and performance data zone by zone.
Multi-zone design strategies for commercial greenhouse lighting.
Strategic zone allocation maximizes the benefits of multi-zone lighting design.
- Zone by crop type
Organized zones by crop type creates optimal growing conditions for plants with similar lighting requirements.
- Zone by growth stage
Match light to physiology at each step.
- Zone by production schedule
Stage production to hit markets year-round.
- Peak production zone for high output.
- Winter support zones to extend short days.
- R&D zone to test cultivars or recipes without risking main production.
Implementation checklist
A bit of planning up front keeps day-to-day operations calm later on . Start with infrastructure, followed by boundaries, then climate integration.
- Infrastructure: Independent circuits per zone; networked control for fixtures and sensors. Light, temperature, humidity, and CO₂ sensors in representative locations. Proper mounting heights and spacing per bay/crop.
- Zone boundaries: Use walls, curtains, or distance to limit lightspill. Keep access corridors clear and design for reconfiguration.
- Climate integration: Coordinate with heating, as LEDs add less heatthan legacy lighting. Different intensities can change transpiration and humidity, so ensure airflow and dehumidification are appropriately sized.High-intensity zones may require additional CO₂.
Why zoning pays off: Energy and operations.
Energy becomes a tool when you target the right amount of light to the right square footage. Zoning allocates watts where needed, and reduces them where they are not needed.
- Targeted delivery: Each zone gets exactly what it needs, eliminating over-lighting of low-value areas.
- Demand-based operation: Dim or turn it off in empty zones while optimizing active ones.
- Peak demand management: ·Stagger schedules to soften peaks and reduce charges.
- Seasonal optimization: Increase support in winter; lean on sunlight in summer.
- Actionable data: View energy and performance data on your dashboard o enable continuous optimization
Crop results you can see.
When light matches physiology, growth becomes more predictable, and planning gets easier.
- Faster, more predictable growth: Aligned spectrum and intensity with stage-specific targets ensures consistent development.
- Healthier plants: The right intensity reduces stress, and balanced spectra support strong structure.
- Tighter harvest windows: Consistent lighting daily makes crop scheduling and market deliveries more predictable.
- Consistent quality: Achieve reproducible color, flavor, and uniformity from batch to batch.
Getting started with multi-zone lighting management with Sollum's advanced dynamic solution
Begin with what you grow and when you sell.From there, you can design the few zones that will make the biggest difference and expand as your program evolves.
- Map bays, crops and goals
- Pick first-wave zones (by crop, stage or schedule)
- Validate electrical/network capacity.
- Select recipes in our SUNaaS® library; Set guardrails (min/max PPFD, ramps, photoperiods).
- Monitor, learn, and iterate, zone by zone.
The question is whether you’ll seize this opportunity to grow better, more efficiently, and more profitably. Call Sollum Technologies at 1-866-220-5455 to learn more about our advanced dynamic LED solution.
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