In This Issue LEDs and Alga Sittin in a Tree Holiday Giving Hydroponic Greenhouse at the Alfred State Suny College of Technology Center for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture. Herbs under LGM LED Grow Lights Featured Distributor Far North Garden Supply Wasilla, AK 99654 1-907-376-7586 Anchorage, AK 99504 1-907-333-3141 Toll Free 1-888-560-3141 Featured Product SolarOasis AquaBar ABP3 LED Aquarium Lighting Professional model with 3 LED clusters which will provide expert results in fresh water aquariums up to 20" deep. Country specific power supply included. Simply let us know that you are a reader of the LED Gardener in the special requests portion of the shopping cart to receive 10% off your purchase. Buy the ABP3 Now! The LED Gardener appreciates all the input we receive from our readers. If you would like to submit an article or pictures; or you would like to comment on a current article please send submissions and comments or questions to: press@led-grow-master.com You are receiving this email because you subscribed at www.led-grow-master.com If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please request your name removed by emailing angela@led-grow-master.com |
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| December 2011 Volume 6, Issue 12 |
LEDs and Alga Sittin’ in a Tree
In rural Northern Minnesota almost every small town has a café where the farmers meet in the
morning. It was in one of these cafés that I made the mistake of bringing up a certain clean burning fuel
made from renewable resources. Alright, I said “ethanol”. I learned that the word can turn a usually
genial bunch of coffee drinking, dice rolling farmers into animated political orators. As a result of this
experience and in an effort to avoid having to roll the dice alone on my next visit; I feel it necessary to
emphasize that I am about to write about the future of biofuel which is not corn. .
According to the International Energy Agency, biofuels have the potential of meeting more than a
quarter of the world’s demand for transportation fuels by 2050. One of the most promising sources for
this fuel is algae. Algae can double its biomass in a day and doesn’t require freshwater or land that
could otherwise be used to grow food. Algae is incredibly efficient. If we were to run two acres side by
side- one with a traditional biofuel crop and the other with algae, the algae acre could produce 300
times more oil and absorb as much as seven times more carbon from the atmosphere.
According to the Department of Energy, the widespread adoption of LEDs (light emitting diodes) over
the next twenty years can decrease the amount of energy consumed by lighting in the US by as much as
25% and avoid over 246 million metric tons of carbon emissions over the same period. LED grow lights
are constructed for targeting specific wavelengths to fuel photosynthesis and are designed to run on
alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, or even geothermal. If we were to run two acres side by
side- one with traditional artificial plant lighting and one with LED grow lights; the LED lighting could last
over 15 times longer, reduce the
amount of water lost to evaporation, and use as much
as 90% less electricity. Absent the lead and mercury,
LEDs could be recycled at the end of their extraordinarily
long life-time.
It’s only natural that these two mega efficient
solutions would come together and they do in biofuel.
Some of the hurdles in algae research have been met
with solutions in LED technology and vice versa. LEDs
can provide a consistent 18 or 24 hour photoperiod to
maximize production potential year round utilizing a
fraction of the resources previously required to do so
with artificial lighting. Algae requires very little light,
maximizing the potential coverage area of LED lighting
(a very small amount of light can be used over a large
area of algae.) Algae can be sensitive to
temperature which has limited the potential of
supplemental lighting for algae in the past but with LEDs,
researchers are now able to add multiple levels
of lighting while adding virtually no heat to the system. While both solutions struggle with initial cost
barriers, the combination increases the productivity per square foot for algae and increases the
coverage per square foot of LEDs making both solutions more financially appealing.
The developing relationship between algae and LEDs is mainly transpiring in the lab today; the result
of their marriage could ultimately produce a sustainable fuel source for the future that could be grown
anywhere and would be produced locally. With almost 50% of our global energy needs tied up in
transportation and lighting, you can bet that these ideas are on the fast track. Farmers may soon be
just as interested in filling your fuel tank as your dinner table. --AL
Holiday Giving
LED Grow Master Global, LLC will be giving 10% of the profit from all lighting purchased through our
website through December 31st, 2011 to one or more of the following charities:
#1- FEEDING AMERICA- For every $1 you donate, Feeding America helps provide 10 pounds of food
and grocery products to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.
#2-ACTION AGAINST HUNGER-Action Against Hunger's nutrition programs treat and prevent acute
malnutrition in those most vulnerable, including young children and women who are pregnant or nursing.
The programs are launched most often during times of crisis—when an earthquake devastates a city,
when civil war tears apart a country, when drought leads to famine, when families flee violence only to
confront hunger.
#3-THE HUNGER PROJECT- The Hunger Project empowers people to meet their own basic needs and
build better futures for their children.
If you prefer one charity over the other- simply enter the number of your charity in the "Special
Requests" portion of the shopping cart at www.led-grow-master.com
“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”-Mother Teresa
In rural Northern Minnesota almost every small town has a café where the farmers meet in the
morning. It was in one of these cafés that I made the mistake of bringing up a certain clean burning fuel
made from renewable resources. Alright, I said “ethanol”. I learned that the word can turn a usually
genial bunch of coffee drinking, dice rolling farmers into animated political orators. As a result of this
experience and in an effort to avoid having to roll the dice alone on my next visit; I feel it necessary to
emphasize that I am about to write about the future of biofuel which is not corn. .
According to the International Energy Agency, biofuels have the potential of meeting more than a
quarter of the world’s demand for transportation fuels by 2050. One of the most promising sources for
this fuel is algae. Algae can double its biomass in a day and doesn’t require freshwater or land that
could otherwise be used to grow food. Algae is incredibly efficient. If we were to run two acres side by
side- one with a traditional biofuel crop and the other with algae, the algae acre could produce 300
times more oil and absorb as much as seven times more carbon from the atmosphere.
According to the Department of Energy, the widespread adoption of LEDs (light emitting diodes) over
the next twenty years can decrease the amount of energy consumed by lighting in the US by as much as
25% and avoid over 246 million metric tons of carbon emissions over the same period. LED grow lights
are constructed for targeting specific wavelengths to fuel photosynthesis and are designed to run on
alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, or even geothermal. If we were to run two acres side by
side- one with traditional artificial plant lighting and one with LED grow lights; the LED lighting could last
over 15 times longer, reduce the
amount of water lost to evaporation, and use as much
as 90% less electricity. Absent the lead and mercury,
LEDs could be recycled at the end of their extraordinarily
long life-time.
It’s only natural that these two mega efficient
solutions would come together and they do in biofuel.
Some of the hurdles in algae research have been met
with solutions in LED technology and vice versa. LEDs
can provide a consistent 18 or 24 hour photoperiod to
maximize production potential year round utilizing a
fraction of the resources previously required to do so
with artificial lighting. Algae requires very little light,
maximizing the potential coverage area of LED lighting
(a very small amount of light can be used over a large
area of algae.) Algae can be sensitive to
temperature which has limited the potential of
supplemental lighting for algae in the past but with LEDs,
researchers are now able to add multiple levels
of lighting while adding virtually no heat to the system. While both solutions struggle with initial cost
barriers, the combination increases the productivity per square foot for algae and increases the
coverage per square foot of LEDs making both solutions more financially appealing.
The developing relationship between algae and LEDs is mainly transpiring in the lab today; the result
of their marriage could ultimately produce a sustainable fuel source for the future that could be grown
anywhere and would be produced locally. With almost 50% of our global energy needs tied up in
transportation and lighting, you can bet that these ideas are on the fast track. Farmers may soon be
just as interested in filling your fuel tank as your dinner table. --AL
Holiday Giving
LED Grow Master Global, LLC will be giving 10% of the profit from all lighting purchased through our
website through December 31st, 2011 to one or more of the following charities:
#1- FEEDING AMERICA- For every $1 you donate, Feeding America helps provide 10 pounds of food
and grocery products to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.
#2-ACTION AGAINST HUNGER-Action Against Hunger's nutrition programs treat and prevent acute
malnutrition in those most vulnerable, including young children and women who are pregnant or nursing.
The programs are launched most often during times of crisis—when an earthquake devastates a city,
when civil war tears apart a country, when drought leads to famine, when families flee violence only to
confront hunger.
#3-THE HUNGER PROJECT- The Hunger Project empowers people to meet their own basic needs and
build better futures for their children.
If you prefer one charity over the other- simply enter the number of your charity in the "Special
Requests" portion of the shopping cart at www.led-grow-master.com
“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”-Mother Teresa
LED Gardener
| Algae growing under LGM LED grow lights. |
