About - Growth Chamber Efficiency (Controlled Environment Facility)
Spring 2019 - ABT 212
The UC Davis Controlled Environment Facility (CEF) currently houses 165 growth chambers to support plant research. The chambers use High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps and Fluorescent lamps that consume large amounts of electricity and also pose disposal issues due to mercury. To decrease energy usage and lifecycle impact, LED technology was investigated as an option to replace the current lights. A payback period of 15 years was shown for both lamp type recommendations.