Maximum Yield USA September 2018 | Page 75

“The lamp and the ballast are the heart of the fixture, but the reflector is the soul of the fixture.” We’ve seen lots of similar lighting fixtures released in recent years; what sets the JOULE-Series apart from the competition? I’ve seen them come and go as well. Now every ballast builder or lamp manufacturer calls himself a fixture-manufacturer, but making a fixture is a different trade. The lamp and the ballast are the heart of the fixture, but the reflector is the soul of the fixture. We developed lighting as a means for production. We made sure that the reflector was developed to be highly efficient, but also entirely uniform. We’ve created an open-style reflector that will show no hotspots on the plant, even when the distance between the reflec- tor and the plants is as low as three feet. The reason no hotspots appear is because the light is distributed evenly over the canopy instead of focused downward like most fixtures on the market. The fixture itself is made to be as compact as possible, with a built-in spirit level, to assure a perfectly even light spread. We also developed an easy-to-use controller that can take up to 1,000 lights per unit on four different zones. So, if our readers have invested in a generic fixture are there any tell-tale signs the product might be substandard? Any light fixture will help growing plants. A candle would even help growing plants. We are focused on efficiency and bringing light efficiently towards the plants. We’ve researched the best spectrum for growing and made sure to supply the most effi- cient lamps with our JOULE-Series fixtures. We’ve focused on temperature manage- ment of both lamp and electronics to assure a long lifespan. If you combine spectrum, energy-use, and uniformity, it could mean replacing generic fixtures with the JOULE-Series could make your grow about 50 per cent more efficient and the quality of the plants would be remarkably better. What can you tell us about your DLM-4 Zone Controller; how is it different from existing controllers on the market? The DLM-4 Zone Controller is specially designed to set up a daily lighting management system for your Dutch Lighting Innovations JOULE-Series fixtures. The DLM-4 Zone Controller can be connected to up to four separate zones of DLI lighting fixtures. Each controller can control up to 2,000 lights. Once connected to the fixtures, the controller will monitor and control the lights using a digital time-clock. Up to four separate tempera- ture sensors can be connected that will measure the temperature of up to four zones/growing areas. The user can select to dim the lights if the temperature goes above their chosen set-point, or to turn the lights off. Each fixture comes with a cable-set so that it can be connected to the controller. In the coming months we will be launching a full climate control system. In addition to the lighting, it can also control CO 2 , temperature, and humidity. Maximum Yield 75