70,000 sq ft cannabis greenhouse chooses LED system to overcome market challenges

California LightWorks, a leading provider of horticultural lighting solutions today announced Nipomo AG, a licensed 70,000 sq. ft. cannabis greenhouse in San Luis Obispo County has adopted the new MegaDrive LED system. The company realized in order to overcome the competitive market forces it needed to install high-tech supplemental lighting.


George Mekhtarian, CEO of California Lightworks

"The challenges presented by climate, regulatory policy and the economics of cannabis cultivation drive the demand for cutting-edge technology and best practices," said Brett Vapnek, of Nipomo AG. "We knew we had to get the best lighting technology installed to increase our yields and revenue, while cutting costs and reducing our climate impact."

Their San Luis Obispo facility that has four bays for flowering, and two bays veg and mothers. The MegaDrive is a patented cost-effective LED lighting system for greenhouse operations that is simple to install yet highly effective in increasing both crop quality and yield.

One of the unique challenges of the Nipomo Ag installation was that they would have had to run new power lines to both ends of the 270 ft. greenhouse. The cost of bringing heavy power to the far side of the greenhouse alone was estimated to over $100,000.

Instead, the MegaDrive systems were installed across one wall of the greenhouse closest to the power transformer and connected directly to three phase 480V, reducing installation cost by over 80%.

"The MegaDrive installations are great because you can have the system that powers and controls the lights, installed away from the grow area, even up to 300 feet from the light fixtures" added California Lightworks CEO George Mekhtarian. "The system is also able to be carefully turned for spectrum and intensity, saving energy and increasing yields. The lighting can simulate sunrise and sunset, and the lighting intensity can be dialed up and down as necessary automatically via a photo sensor. With the MegaDrive central power supply design, all the power electronics are removed from the fixtures and the lights become very robust and ideal for high humidity environments."

Compared to the grow operations outfitted with traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights or no lights at all, California Lightworks' MegaDrive increases the yield (both in terms of pounds per square foot and pounds per watt) and quality of the crop. MegaDrive LED technology reduces fixture costs by up to 30% and installation costs by up to 80%. In addition, these benefits come at a 50% lower operating cost than traditional HPS lighting systems.

The MegaDrive spectrum and dimming controls can be integrated with third party greenhouse environmental control systems or done independently using unique touch screen and wireless solutions.  Every aspect of the yield can thus be dialed in. In addition, the system's slim linear light design and central power supply reduce shadowing.