outsourced innovation case study-rose acre farm

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Hoosier Energy Research Project Emerging LED Technology in a Poultry Application Rose Acre Farms, Cort Acres Complex- Seymour, IN Prepared by Outsourced Innovation, LLC 6/1/2011 The business information related to the findings in this report is confidential to Rose Acre Farms. Results from this evaluation are specific to this location and at one point in time. More field experience is required to make predictions on long-term technology reliability or validate other product claims.

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Page 1: Outsourced Innovation Case Study-Rose Acre Farm

Hoosier Energy Research Project

Emerging LED Technology in a Poultry Application Rose Acre Farms, Cort Acres Complex- Seymour, IN

Prepared by Outsourced Innovation, LLC 6/1/2011 The business information related to the findings in this report is confidential to Rose Acre Farms. Results from this evaluation are specific to this location and at one point in time. More field experience is required to make predictions on long-term technology reliability or validate other product claims.

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Background and Research Objectives

3. Recommendations

4. Methodology

a. Dimming Schedule

b. Baseline CFL Light and Power Quality Measurements

c. CFL compared to LED Light Measurements and Power Quality

d. Radiometric Measurements

5. Energy Savings

6. Lifecycle Analysis

7. Final Thoughts and Conclusions

Appendix

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Rose Acre Farms – Cort Acres Complex

1. Executive Summary

Recent advancements in solid-state lighting (SSL) provide new opportunities for achieving

energy efficiency, lowered maintenance costs and higher quality illumination for agricultural-

based applications.

The efficient use of energy has been an important goal for many initiatives at Hoosier Energy.

Customers look to their utility for ways to improve energy efficiency and implement new

technology that creates real value and contributes to a better environment.

Rose Acre Farms must be technically sound on new lighting technology selected because they

have to live with the results. If lights do not perform as claimed it can entail a detrimental

financial loss to operations and the utility that supports delivering reliable electric service.

A collaborative light emitting diode (LED) research project has been established between Rose

Acre Farms, Hoosier Energy and their distribution cooperative Jackson County REMC and the

LED lighting manufacturer Once Innovations. The project goal is to help understand and

communicate the benefits and performance of a new LED lighting system called AgriShift EL®

designed for egg-laying poultry facilities.

The LED research house selected (House #8) is home to about 80,000 hens within the Cort Acres

complex at Rose Acre Farms. That house was selected to compare against operations within the

remaining 34 houses lit with CFLs that will serve as the control group.

Initial results from the installation of 360, 3-watt poultry cage LED lights replacing 192, 9-watt

CFLs show the following results:

100-hour LED light output measurements show AgriShift EL met performance claims on

their datasheet at 100% light intensity delivering matched or better light output compared

to CFLs.

A forecasted 6,285 annual k/Wh savings from the modular LED lamps in House #8. If

the entire Cort Acres complex was converted to AgriShift LEDs, it is projected that Rose

Acres Farms could realize an annual dollar savings of about $17,430 primarily achieved

from the reduced wattage from LEDs and an estimated $100,000 savings from reduced

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maintenance costs over the projected 8-year service life of the LED lighting system,

assuming that long service life holds true.

Compared to the option of keeping the existing CFL lighting system in place, payback of

4 years implies the technology is more expensive upfront for full-scale lamp conversions.

The availability of utility incentives or energy efficiency grants can help to reduce

payback calculations.

The installation of the AgriShift LED lighting system shows a projected 20 year net

present value (NPV) positive cost savings of $19.53 compared to CFLs and an Internal

Rate of Return (IRR) of 20% indicating LEDs might be a good investment compared to

other capital projects and especially if a positive behavioral response can be documented.

Because measured differences in LED light intensities were detected from the high-tier

cages versus the low-tier cages, behavioral changes in House #8 may be difficult to trace

back to LED lighting. That may require further evaluation to assess differences in bird

production of high-tier versus low tier cages and comparing results of the LED house to

other CFL houses.

Industry methods to predict long-term LED fixture reliability are unclear implying that strong

product warranties are critical for an agricultural application. More time and experience is

required to predict if the AgriShift EL fixtures will continue to deliver to proposed EnergyStar

and Illuminating Society of North America (IESNA) standards of delivering 70% light output

after 50,000 hours in this harsh environment.

Also, findings in this report are projections as an LM-79-08 Electrical and Photometric Report

of Solid State Products was not provided for the LED fixtures at this demonstration site. The

AgriShift EL products have not been safety tested by a nationally recognized testing lab

(Underwriters Laboratory, Intertek).

2. Background and Objectives

Rose Acre Farms is home to over 3 million, cage-layer production hens at any given time and

prides itself on safe-cage farming. This includes protection from natural predators, hens having

constant access to fresh food, water and natural grains, automatic manure removal and other

farming operations that maximizes energy efficiency and reduces its carbon footprint. The

promise of LED lighting is a natural extension to its operations as they keep a close watch on

light intensity to create a calm atmosphere.

The 2 year life span of CFLs compared to LEDs (10,000-15,000 versus 50,000) creates an added

maintenance cost for Rose Acre Farms as frequent replacement of CFL bulbs are needed because

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of pre-mature failure or breakage. Further, LEDs are RoHS compliant meaning they contain no

heavy metals and unlike CFLs can be disposed or recycled without environmental concerns.

The installed solid state lighting system is manufactured by Once Innovations, a Plymouth,

Minnesota based company. The new LED product is designed specifically for poultry

applications and is a 3-watt, AC based LED Poultry Cage Lighting system (refer to Appendix A

for spec sheet on AgriShift EL). The project was not a retrofit as it required the installation of

new conduit and a dimming system. The AC-based product was designed with the advantage of

easy integration to the complex’s existing electrical system and is suitable for very small-size

lamps. AgriShiftEL also has an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of IP66 indicating it suitable for

dirt and dust environments and wet or hose spray cleaning.

The legacy lighting in the Cort Acres complex is 17 years old and utilizes a bi-pin CFL lighting

system at more than 9 watts each and inefficient by today’s standards but needed for an energy-

saving lighting system required for a productive poultry application. New conduit was installed

to accommodate the modular LED lighting system that replaced existing CFL, GU23 pin-based

sockets.

The LED lighting system is expected to demonstrate a more robust product that is conducive to

harsh environments, eliminates the risk of bulb breakage or mercury contamination, will show a

substantial energy savings and deliver a longer service life that could reduce facility maintenance

and disposal costs.

Beyond cost savings, the expectation is the LED system will demonstrate new value from LED-

based illumination. The LED product is built with selective dimming capabilities not seen with

CFLs and claims to provide a spectral light distribution that closely mimics the color sensitivities

of poultry. The hypothesis is that the unique wavelength of LEDs can be tailored to elicit

behavior changes that might stimulate increased weight gain, egg size or egg production.

Hoosier Energy and Jackson County REMC will be monitoring pre and post LED light levels,

lumen depreciation and power quality following the conversion to LEDs. Rose Acre Farms will

track and report fixture outages and reported behavior changes resulting from the conversion to

LED lighting, within the 80,000 hen facility and compare to results from the other 34 non-LED

houses. Project completion will occur after 1 year of power quality analysis.

Specific research objectives of the project include the following:

1. Can a replacement of 9-watt CFLs with 3-watt LEDs produce an energy savings with an

LED lighting system manufactured by Once Innovations?

2. Will photometry following the lighting conversion meet design guidelines of matched or

surpassed light levels compared to CFLs, achieving .5 footcandles at the bottom-tier

cage?

3. What is the actual energy savings following the conversion to AgriShift EL, especially

resulting from new dimming capabilities of LEDs?

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4. How will the conversion to an LED lighting system impact the electric load at Rose Acre

Farm?

5. Will light levels hold up as well or better and long-term compared to CFLs within a harsh

and dirty environment?

6. Does the different spectral intensity of LED lighting drive behavior and/or feeding

changes for the new breed of birds that include the following:

a. Will LEDs maintain the same level of egg production?

b. Will the size or weight of eggs change as a result of LED lighting?

c. Will hens maintain body weight with the new flock of birds?

d. What is the impact of feed consumption in House 8, if any, resulting from the

LED conversion?

3. Recommendations

A one-time measurement after LED lights have been seasoned does not adequately

predict long-term lamp reliability. To ensure steady state performance and mitigate risk,

continue to monitor lumen maintenance at 1,000 hours, 6,000 and 10,000 hours,

especially since proof of high temperature tests were not provided on the fixtures (LM-80

report).

Consider evaluating the production and behavior performance of LEDs and CFLs in both

high-tier cage hens versus low-tiered cage birds as light intensities were measured as

being dramatically different.

Monitor LED power and power quality in both the on and off state.

Request a binning policy from the vendor and/or protection from droop (drop in

efficiency that might occur when LEDs operate at high power).

Make certain that LED lamps are UL rated before expansion of equipment into other

houses within the complex to ensure the risk of electric shock or fire is properly

addressed.

Continue to monitor power quality at the LED test facility for at least one year. Full-

scale adoption of LEDs could have the potential to reduce lighting load from 444,000

k/Wh to 219,000 k/Wh if LED lights are deployed throughout all 35 houses within the

Cort Acre complex.

4. Research Methodology

House #8 was identified by Rose Acre Farms as an ideal house for evaluation of LED. The

current flock was mature and ready for transportation out so a direct behavior comparison from a

new flock would be in place. It is anticipated that the flock will stay in the LED test facility

through 2 regular productions and during short molting cycles with changes in feed and light for

the duration of the evaluation.

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House #8 measures 500 feet long by 50 feet wide, having 6 rows of cages stacked 8 feet in

height, with 2 foot walkways between each row of cages. The facility occupied six rows of 9

watt, bi-pin CFL lights (model # F9BX/841- GE;CFL GU23), at 15.4 foot spacing and a ceiling

height of 9.5’.

The old lighting system was removed and replaced with new conduit to accommodate the

AgriShift EL modular lighting system and Phason Controller to allow for dimming features.

The electrical configuration within House #8 consists of a 3-phase, 120 volts with 6 rows

monitored with each row on separate circuits. PMI (Power Monitors, Inc) Eagle 440 meters

were setup with alligator clips using 3-channels with each channel on its own single-phase circuit

to isolate lighting load. After the LEDs were installed, all six rows of lights were put on 1 single-

phase breaker so 1 channel on the PMI recorder is used to monitor load in 15-second intervals.

Illumination measurements were taken using a NIST traceable, research-grade Solar Light Meter

PMA 2100 with remote sensors for photopic and scotopic data recording. Radiometric readings

(light color and intensity) were also captured using Minolta Konica’s SpectraRad Irradiance

Meter as LED light intensity was a value added feature compared to CFLs.

Dimming Schedule

An important aspect to the research was to evaluate the impact of dimming on energy savings

and flock performance. Unlike the existing CFL system, LEDs can be dimmed. A dimming

schedule was established to mimic sunrise and sunset and leverage the added value of solid state

lighting by manipulating light levels to achieve a desired behavioral response.

The schedule in Table 1 below reflects how LED light levels were established during initial

growth weeks and in preparation for birds reaching 3 lbs, where the flock is considered

“production ready.” The long-term light cycle will entail 17.5 hours to create a gradual longer

daylight photoperiod with 1 hour for an additional late evening feed.

Table 1 – Cort Acres Complex LED Dimming Schedule

Initial Schedule (weeks 1 – 9) Light Intensity On-Time

(14 hrs)

6:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. 0% to gradual 100% ½ hour

6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. 100% 12 hrs

6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. 100% to gradual 0% ½ hour

Lamp Type CFLs LEDs – AgriShift EL

# of Lamps 192 360

Spacing (feet) 15.4’ 8.0’

Input wattage (validated) 10.657 watts 2.923 watts (April); 2.700 watts (April – July 2011)

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7:00 p.m. Lights off

11:00 p.m. – 11:10 p.m. 0% to gradual 100% 10 minutes

11:10 p.m. – 11:50 p.m. 100% 40 minutes

11:50 p.m. – Midnight 100% to gradual 0% 10 minutes

Midnight Lights off

Long-term Schedule (week 10

and beyond)

Light Intensity On-Time

(17.5 hrs)

4:00 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. 0 to gradual 100% ½ hour

4:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. 100% 15.5 hrs

8:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. 100% to gradual 0% ½ hour

8:30 p.m. Lights off

11:00 p.m. – 11:10 p.m. 0% to gradual 100% 10 minutes

11:10 p.m. – 11:50 p.m. 100% 40 minutes

11:50 – Midnight 100% to gradual 0% 10 minutes

Midnight Lights off

Baseline CFL Measurements

On December 6, 2010, baseline CFL light and power quality measurements were taken with

birds in place to compare against the LED conversion (Table 2) showing .9 – 1.2 average

footcandles from 80 light measurements taken at 6” above horizontal grade just prior to the LED

conversion. Power quality measurements were validated using a PMI Eagle meter for 7 days, in

15-second intervals validating power usage of CFLs and ballast at 10.657 watts each.

Table 2 – Baseline CFL Light Output and Power Quality Readings, House #8

Cort Acres

Baseline Readings Barn 8, Row 5

Performance Evaluation

DATE: 12/6/2010 Enclosed barn

TIME: 4:32 PM - 5:15 PM

TEMPERATURE: 52.7 deg F

HUMIDITY: 91%

Lamp 9 Watt CFLs GU23 Hours of Operation: 12 -16 hours Power Quality Data Meters: PMI Eagle 440

15-second intervals, 7 days of readings

Installed

FIXTURES AVG. MAX. MIN. MAX. COEFFICIENT POWER INPUT

ILLUM. ILLUM. ILLUM. TO OF UNIFORMITY FACTOR THD POWER

(FC) MIN. VARIATION X:1 (WATTS/FIXTURE)

All Fixtures 0.537 6.49 10.657

PHOTOPIC 0.9 1.1 0.8 1.4 0.11 1.2

SCOTOPIC 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.5 0.12 1.2

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In preparation for LED conversion the facility was cleaned and disinfected before a new flock

was delivered. The flock will remain in place for 2 years which will allow for accurate house-to-

house comparison on behavior or egg production changes against the other CFL facilities.

New circuits, conduit and LED lamps were installed the week of April 11th

with 100 hours of

burn time to season LEDs prior to a new flock entering the facility and taking initial 100-hour

LED measurements.

LED Light Output and Power Quality Measurements

Horizontal illumination measurements following the LED conversion shown in Table 3

demonstrates light levels that exceed CFLs at ground level. These readings were taken with the

AgriShift EL at 100% light intensity.

No photometric measurements were taken at 80% or 50% light intensity.

Table 3 – 100 Hour LED Light and Power Measurements at Cort Acres, House #8

Power quality validation also shows initial power draw for AgriShift EL at 2.923 watts (April,

2011), then dropping to 2.7006 (April – July, 2011) with initial power factor (PF) at .976 (April,

2011) and dropping to .9606 (April – July, 2011) and initial total harmonic distortion (THD)

17.081% (April, 2011) dropping to 15.932 (April – July, 2011). Initial reported power quality is

based on 11 days of 24/7 monitoring in 15-second intervals and included the average of 31,338

data points. Four-month reported power quality is based on 460,210 data points and 24/7

monitoring in 15-second intervals.

The side-by-side comparison of light output at both floor and mid-cage level measurements from

baseline CFLs versus LEDs are indicated in Table 4 below. The red circle indicates that LED

measurements easily met and surpassed the hurdle of .5 footcandles at floor level at 100% light

intensity.

Cort Acres Farms

Baseline & 4-month Readings Barn 8, Row 5

Performance Evaluation - LED 100 hr test

DATE: 4/22/2011 Enclosed barn

TIME: 9:06 AM - 9:57 AM

TEMPERATURE: 64.9 deg F

HUMIDITY: 54% Power Quality Data Meter PMI Eagle 440

Lamp Agrishift Hours of Operation: 13 hrs 15-second intervals

Week of LED Installation: 4/11/2011 4/18-29/2011; 4/18 - 7/24, 2011

Installed

FIXTURES AVG. MAX. MIN. MAX. COEFFICIENT POWER INPUT

ILLUM. ILLUM. ILLUM. TO OF UNIFORMITY FACTOR THD POWER

(FC) MIN. VARIATION X:1 (WATTS/FIXTURE)

All Fixtures 1 month 0.976 17.081 2.923

PHOTOPIC 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.2 0.02 1.1 4 months 0 960 15.9322 2.701

SCOTOPIC 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.2 0.04 1.1

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Table 4: CFL and LED Illumination Comparisons at Mid-Cage and Floor Level

LED Radiometric Readings

Radiometric readings show the spectral light distribution of the AgriShift EL product with the

dominant wavelength indicated at 570 nanometers and a Kelvin temperature of 4749. The

predominate findings from Figure 1 and Figure 2 was that light intensity at high cage was

different than low cage measurements but inconclusive if lower relative intensities for bottom

cage birds would impact hen performance, and not unlike what might occur with CFLs.

No radiometric readings were taken on CFLs for this evaluation.

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Figure 1 – Cort Acres, High-Cage Light Intensity Readings (18” below light source)

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Figure 2 – Cort Acres, Low- Cage Light Intensity (42’’ directly below light source)

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It will be important to monitor if both LED and CFL light output is maintained and color is

stable to ensure these chromaticity measurements don’t shift over time or from excessive heat or

humidity from a harsh operational environment.

5. Energy Savings

Based on measurement and validation work supporting this project it is estimated that this LED

research project will deliver a 50% energy savings in House #8. More LEDs and shorter

spacing was used to achieve the same or better targeted light levels than were delivered with

CFLs.

The annual energy use for CFL versus LED is shown in Table 4.

Table 4 – Cort Acres Annual Energy Savings (validated w/power meters)

Lamp Source Number of

Fixtures

Input wattage*

Annual hrs

k/Wh

CFLs 192 10.65 watts 6,205 12,687

AgriShift

LEDs

360 2.9 watts 6,132 6,401

Net Energy

Savings

50%

Further, even though more LED fixtures were utilized, the lighting power density in House # 8

went from 0.08 w/ft² to 0.04 w/ft² to demonstrate the directionality and optical efficiency of the

AgriShift LED lighting system.

6. Lifecycle Cost Analysis

While technical performance of LEDs in House #8 is critical to technology adoption at Rose

Acre Farms, purchasers likely will look at financial performance first.

In LED conversion new application installations, product lifetime and reliability are critical

contributors to a financial analysis. This is especially true when payback is measured in years,

where long warranties are a business necessity and where reduced maintenance costs creates a

significant portion of the return on investment. Also, since in theory, the LEDs are expected to

last 3-5 times longer than conventional CFLs, lighting maintenance costs could be potentially

lower.

The key financial metrics of payback period are discussed below to help understand if LED

technology today makes financial sense for Rose Acre Farms. An economic analysis will help

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Rose Acre Farms make a decision to invest in an LED lighting system throughout all 35 houses

within the Cort Acres complex or keep the existing CFL lights in place.

The lifecycle analysis takes into account the following assumptions as indicated in Table 5.

Table 5 – Financial Assumptions

CFL AgriShift EL

Validated Input wattage 10.65 watts 2.9 watts

Base Rate (k/Wh) 0.566 0.0566

Demand charge per kW $ 11.89 $11.89

Rated Useful Life (hrs.) 10,000 50,000

Labor Rate $65 $65

Labor hours to replace .16 .20

Inflation rate for electricity 3% 3%

Cost of capital 10% 10%

Lamp cost $2 (new bulb replacement

and disposal of CFLs)

$28 (includes

conduit/dimmer)

The applicable general base rate from Jackson County REMC for Rose Acre Farms is 0.566

k/Wh and demand charge of $11.89 kW.

9 watt CFL 3 watt Agrishift

Year EnergyLabor & material Present value Energy Labor & material Present value

2010 $0.00 $8.50 $7.73 $0.00 $41.00 $37.27

2011 $5.18 $0.00 $4.28 $1.37 $0.00 $1.13

2012 $5.34 $8.50 $10.39 $1.41 $0.00 $1.06

2013 $5.50 $0.00 $3.75 $1.45 $0.00 $0.99

2014 $5.66 $8.50 $8.79 $1.49 $0.00 $0.93

2015 $5.83 $0.00 $3.29 $1.54 $0.00 $0.87

2016 $6.01 $8.50 $7.44 $1.58 $0.00 $0.81

2017 $6.19 $0.00 $2.89 $1.63 $0.00 $0.76

2018 $6.37 $8.50 $6.31 $1.68 $28.00 $12.59

2019 $6.56 $0.00 $2.53 $1.73 $0.00 $0.67

2020 $6.76 $8.50 $5.35 $1.78 $0.00 $0.62

2021 $6.96 $0.00 $2.22 $1.84 $0.00 $0.59

2022 $7.17 $8.50 $4.54 $1.89 $0.00 $0.55

2023 $7.39 $0.00 $1.94 $1.95 $0.00 $0.51

2024 $7.61 $8.50 $3.86 $2.01 $0.00 $0.48

2025 $7.84 $0.00 $1.71 $2.07 $0.00 $0.45

2026 $8.07 $8.50 $3.28 $2.13 $23.00 $4.97

2027 $8.31 $0.00 $1.50 $2.19 $0.00 $0.39

2028 $8.56 $8.50 $2.79 $2.26 $0.00 $0.37

2029 $8.82 $0.00 $1.31 $2.33 $0.00 $0.35

NPV of costs over 20 years $85.89 NPV of costs over 20 years $66.36

Internal rate of return^ 19.7%

Simple payback/years to breakeven 4

2 yr return on investment^̂ -88.3%

5 yr return on investment^̂ 1.4%

10 yr return on investment^̂ 37.7%

20 yr return on investment^̂ 273.2%

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The entire 360 LED lighting system is projected to save 6,285 kWh each year for an annual

energy savings in House #8 of $498 ($356 k/Wh savings and $142 in kW savings) . If LEDs

were deployed throughout the entire Cort Acres complex, Rose Acre Farms could realize a cost

savings of $17,395 from using less wattage, because compared to the current CFL lighting in

place, a new LED system is expected to use 50% less energy.

The maintenance cost savings are expected to be the most important component of the value of

LED lighting. With a 50,000 hour rated lifetime, the AgriShift LEDs are expected to last 3-5

times longer than CFLs. Rose Acre Farms could realize a potential $100K in maintenance cost

savings over the 8-year service life of LEDs if they were deployed through the entire Cort Acres

complex assuming lumen output is maintained and product reliability is achieved as claimed by

the manufacturer.

The LED conversion projects a 4 year payback and illustrates the importance of utility rebates to

incentivize deployment of agricultural-based solid state lighting. The project estimates a 20-

Year Net Present Value (NPV) positive cost savings of $19.53 for LED and an Internal Rate of

Return (IRR) of almost 20% suggesting a favorable return on this capital project compared to

investing in a bank certificate of deposit.

For full-scale technology deployment, some poultry farming operations will require LEDs to

come down in price unless utility incentives, grants, or outside financing can be applied. Further,

the total projected savings are based on the assumption that the LED system is reliable in the

field and more time and experience is needed to verify this.

LED technology is reported as following Haitz Law which suggests that light output increases by

a factor of 20 and costs decrease by a factor of 10 every 10 years (DOE SSL Projections). This

has financial implications for projected future capital investments and perhaps will help to make

solid-state lighting technology a more realistic business decision with higher cost being less of a

market barrier to full-scale adoption within the coming years.

7. Final Thoughts and Conclusions

The primary conclusion from this research project is LED lighting systems, although more

expensive upfront will deliver a 50% energy savings to Rose Acre Farm while achieving higher

light levels and better illumination and could deliver added value through reduced maintenance

and disposal costs.

The AgriShift EL product being AC based does not require a driver. That could provide an

advantage of delivering a longer service life compared to other more typical DC based LED

products that do.

The value of dimming at this test site is inconclusive at this time as light levels of less than 100%

intensity may not be acceptable to Rose Acre Farms operations. However, there may be some

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detectable advantages on bird welfare and productivity from leveraging LED dimming

capabilities at sunrise and sunset.

The LED chip manufacturer (Epistar) reports dramatic improvement in lumens per watt from the

LED chip utilized in the current AgriShift EL product. This raises a potential question of how to

address lamp upgrades in House #8 as technology improves.

Anecdotally, impressions of the LED lighting have been favorable suggesting that continued

deployment of LED lighting could be acceptable to not only hens but also employees of Rose

Acre Farm.

Emerging technology demonstrations such as the one in the Cort Acres complex provides

valuable insights regarding the performance of emerging solid-state lighting technology. A

simple misstep in design of immature technology can cause LEDs life to end prematurely.

Lessons learned from this and other LED research projects include the following:

Laboratory testing suggests that useful life of LED fixtures should, in theory, reach a

minimum of 50,000 hours. There is insufficient experience at this test location to

substantiate those claims as more time and real-world demonstrations are required to

back reliability claims. The DOE is comfortable with useful life claims of 35,000 hours

and not beyond that. Also, there were no LM-79 reports submitted for AgriShift EL.

Strong product warranties are essential to mitigate the risk of early system failure, with

other LED manufacturers providing warranties that are longer than 3 years.

Weather extremes and frequent lightning can be common to Seymour, Indiana and within

the Cort Acres complex. It will be important to understand and monitor if adequately

rated ceramic capacitors are designed within the AgriShift lighting system and how SSL

can be exposed to extreme surge conditions such as power-line lightning strikes so an

LED lighting system doesn’t fail prematurely.

The Department of Energy continues to report a wide variability in product performance

and performance claims that are untrue to specs (DOE Caliper Report #11). That may

not hold true to this project as early light output and power measurements are accurate

but necessitates the importance of good measurement and validation procedures over

time and evaluating multiple products before making a scalable purchase of emerging

lighting technologies.

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Appendix

Schematic of House #8

Total power: 3W

Equivalence: 20W incandescent

Harmonic Distortion: < 20%

Power Factor: > 0.97

Dimming: 100 to 1%, smooth transition

Semi linear behavior