The MechaTronix CoolStack horticulture LED top light delivers high efficiency with proven passive cooling for reliable, maintenance-free operation. Its modular design enables easy upgrades, while optimized light distribution ensures uniform crop growth and deep canopy penetration. With flexible spectra options, growers can fine-tune lighting strategies to maximize yield and reduce energy costs.

CoolStack horticulture LED top light - Brochure

The MechaTronix CoolGrow Linear LED grow light bar is a high-efficiency solution for vertical farming and multi-layer cultivation. By positioning light close to the crop, it maximizes light utilization and improves plant response. Its linear, daisy-chain design enables flexible installation with reduced cabling, while adjustable output and spectra allow precise control of PPFD across all growth stages for optimized yield and energy efficiency.

CoolGrow Linear LED Bar – Brochure

The MechaTronix CoolGrow VF redefines indoor grow lighting with its unique water-cooling technology, removing heat from the growing environment for optimal climate control and reduced cooling costs. Its innovative diffuse lighting concept ensures uniform crop exposure and improved plant performance. With high system efficiency and dynamic spectrum control, it enables growers to maximize yield while minimizing energy consumption in vertical farming systems.

CoolGrow VF Indoor Grow Lighting - Flyer

MechaTronix - The Next Dimension in LED Grow Lights

With its headquarter in The Netherlands, production facilities in The Netherlands and Canada, and high-end R&D hubs in New Taipei and Kaohsiung Taiwan, MechaTronix leads the world of advanced LED grow lights. As part of the 8 Lakes group with headquarter in Breda The Netherlands the company combines the high-end world of Asian technology and manufacturing with the cores and values of a West European market leader.

MechaTronix

Flexible lamps offer added value in volatile energy market

When the energy crisis hit, cut chrysanthemum grower Lewis Flowers was just about to introduce a hybrid lighting strategy, combining SON-T and LED fixtures. But soaring energy prices forced the company to rethink its plans. Instead of going hybrid, Lewis Flowers took a bold leap: all lamps were concentrated in half of the greenhouse, allowing production to continue fully under LED light. After one more year of partial hybrid lighting, the company decided to go all-in, switching entirely to LED across the entire growing area.

Results: more flowers, lower costs
The transition paid off quickly. Under full LED lighting, the grower now harvests more flowers per square meter, and the superior energy efficiency of LEDs has led directly to a lower electricity bill.

Reliability and service as decisive factors
Lewis Flowers deliberately chose MechaTronix as their lighting supplier, even though there were cheaper options available. "The cooling system works incredibly well," explains Yorick Leeuwis. "We installed 3,000 new fixtures, and every single one is running perfectly. Any minor issues that came up were resolved quickly and professionally, that gave us confidence. With other brands, that level of assurance just wasn't there." The decision to go with MechaTronix not only resulted in a reliable installation but also brought peace of mind for the years ahead.

Flexibility
The system also gives the company valuable flexibility. The LEDs are automatically dimmed whenever electricity prices spike. "The lights are constantly switching up and down, completely automated," Yorick explained in an earlier interview about how the company manages energy and power costs (link in Dutch). "Price fluctuations have become much more extreme," he adds. "On any given day, gas prices can vary by 2 or 3 cents, and the imbalance market truly lives up to its name. We calculate everything back to cost per stem and compare that with other growers every four weeks. It's amazing how big the differences can be these days."

Integrating LED lighting and vertical air movement into one control platform

Thanks to the shared use of nodes installed for the LED lighting in a recently completed Canadian greenhouse, the fans can now also be steered individually, and gradually. This approach, realized by Mechatronix and Svensson, reduces the need for traditional control cabling, lowers installation complexity, and provides growers with flexibility in grouping and operating the fans. "By using the same wireless dimming technology that already exists for LEDs, we can now apply full flexibility to fans and jets as well. This makes it possible to create the right air movement at the right time, with full flexibility in zoning."


Chosing ClimaFlow
According to Dustin Mater, Svensson North America, the choice for ClimaFlow was driven by the growers' goal to create a more uniform climate, and to save energy. "They were looking to improve their climate and airflow in the greenhouse and to achieve a more uniform climate across the crop."

It's an important topic for growers switching to 100% LED, says Koen Vangorp with Mechatronix, emphasizing that lit crops require an active climate to reach their full potential. "If you don't create that active climate, you won't get the full efficiency out of the crop," he explained. "Something needs to stimulate more evaporation, and today, fans and jets are the most affordable solution for that."

As an example, Dustin explains that growers notice less heat at the head of the crop. "HPS fixtures release considerable radiant heat downward, which LEDs lack. The ClimaFlow fans help push the heat from the fixtures, which would normally rise into the curtain, back down into the canopy. That complements the LEDs and brings the heat to where it is needed."

ClimaFlow system
The ClimaFlow system is built around two parts. The VentilationJet is a white duct placed above the crop, drawing air from above the closed screen. This air, typically drier and cooler, is then introduced below the screen. Beneath the Jet, the ClimaFlow Fan ensures the air is distributed evenly across the crop. By ventilating in this way, the system creates a humidity difference between the air above the screen and below it. The drier air from above the screen is mixed into the crop environment, helping to manage relative humidity levels without requiring screen gapping. As the jets and fans can be controlled separately, the advantages continue when the screens are closed. "When the screens are closed, the jets bring in cooler, drier air without gapping, which means energy can be saved while maintaining humidity control. When the screens are open, the fans continue to mix the air in the crop", Dustin explains.

This separation of functions allows growers to respond to crop needs and climate conditions. "In high-transpiration crops like tomatoes, the need for active dehumidification is high, especially when energy curtains are closed. By using jets to bring in drier air from above the screen, growers avoid opening screens and losing energy. At the same time, the vertical fans continue to circulate air through the canopy, evening out temperature gradients and supporting CO₂ distribution."


Nodes for fan control
Dominique Blok with Svensson explains that normally, fans are connected to a control cable and are hardware-defined to a specific climate group. However, by connecting the fans and jets to the same wireless system as the lighting control technology, the same flexibility we know from the lighting installation becomes available for ventilation control. The idea was first introduced by advisor John van Dijk, advisor with Looije Agro Technics, and the teams decided to go for it.

"With nodes, every fan receives its own address. For example, a façade group, a path group, or a central group can be defined in the climate computer. They can be grouped flexibly and reassigned later, so growers can adapt climate zones over time without hardware changes", Dominique explains.

The flexibility also extends deep into climate strategy, as all information is aligned via the Horti Lighting Protocol, connecting the lights to the climate computer. "In practice, you can now steer a cold façade separately from central crop rows or walkways," Koen added. "The climate computer – in this case Priva – creates these ventilation zones just like lighting zones, so growers can add 20 or more extra climate zones in their control tables. It's the same logic as light zoning, but now applied to air movement." And Priva has shown strong support as well, Koen noted. "They immediately saw the potential. The wireless network is already there because of the lighting, and now fans benefit from the same infrastructure."

Construction and maintenance
The node-based approach also influences the practical side of greenhouse construction and maintenance. "Cables can be a source of both cost and potential failures. With fewer control cables, installation is faster, less labor-intensive, and leaves fewer points of failure", says Dominique. "With nodes, there is no control cable to trace in case of failure. The system is also easier to maintain."

A final relevant detail is that the network continues to be used over summer, as the lights might be off, but the network remains active for the fans' control. This approach also opens doors for other greenhouse technologies. "Anything that doesn't just need an on/off switch but benefits from percentage-based steering could be connected in the future," Koen suggested, without revealing further details.

"This summer, all of Bredefleur is in full LED"

Market Revival

The last SON-T lamps are currently being removed from Bredefleur's greenhouses in Moerkapelle and Luttelgeest, and teams are busy installing the new four-channel Mechatronix fixtures. This makes the company the first lily grower to offer a full range under LED lighting: large and small-flowered, oriental types, and double-flowered.

The majority of Bredefleur's assortment is protected in sales, for which long-term agreements have been made with breeders, bulb growers, and forcers. This way, the product enters the market in a controlled manner. "We want supply and demand to remain in balance so that the entire chain can earn a healthy income," says Peter Evers, who, together with his brothers Thomas, Levi, and Ruben, forms the management of the family business.

Current market developments confirm his vision: after two disappointing years, there is a revival in the market for the small-flowered varieties. "After Covid, flower sales in Western Europe have been more challenging, and particularly the small-flowered varieties have struggled economically."

The market for large-flowered varieties, which mainly find a market in the former Eastern Bloc, remained stable. Adjusting the assortment was considered. "But we are not ones to stop. We have long-term agreements with our suppliers and want to be a reliable partner for them as well. We have tapped into new channels for the small-flowered varieties, and we are now seeing them pick up."

LED learning curve

This entire assortment will henceforth be grown under LED lights. And although the brothers fully support the choice, the SON-T will still be missed. "You can grow lilies perfectly under LED, I'm convinced of that. But it comes with challenges."

The company has been working with LED for more than five years now, first in small-scale trials and later on a larger scale. "SON-T came closer to natural daylight in terms of light spectrum. That recipe wasn't so bad after all. With LED, it's all about efficiency, and as a result, there's little green light in it. Now the challenge lies with my brother to find the old SON-T recipe and apply more natural light."

The transition to LED brought a learning curve with it. "We've noticed that there's a higher risk of leaf burn. Lily leaves are very sensitive and can harden in the final stage of cultivation, which reduces ornamental value. If that happens, you have to pick the leaves, which brings extra labor costs. We also had to deal with this with SON-T, but with LED, you generally apply more mmol, and that seems to exacerbate the issue. You're demanding more from the plant."

Much knowledge has been gained in this area over the past years. "We also participate in collective research on LED and gain a lot of knowledge from it. It has also emerged that you can't really grow lilies well under very high micromoles. Now we have a high-efficiency lamp that delivers 130 to a maximum of 140 umol everywhere."

Cost-wise a no-brainer

Cost-wise, investing in LED is a no-brainer. "The efficiency of SON-T versus LED goes from 1.9 to 4.0, which is almost double. If you can save three tons of gas, and that's the direction it was heading with the daily price at 45 cents, then you're robbing yourself if you don't hang LED. You do miss some heat and heat radiation that you have to generate, but there's no working against this. In terms of cultivation, it's sometimes still a search, and I hear my brother grumble occasionally," he laughs. "But I handle the administration and need to keep the bank account filled."

Moreover, he is also realistic in his expectations. "We've been growing under LED for five years now. First in trials, then increasingly on a larger scale. But it took us nearly twenty years to perfect SON-T. We're learning a lot, but we're not there yet."

Blue light

The new four-channel fixture anticipates this by offering the possibility to add blue light. "We found three-channel to be fine. Now we also have blue light available. What exactly it will do for more efficient cultivation or quality, we don't know yet," admits Peter. "But the price difference was minimal, and LED research is developing rapidly. We want to capitalize on that." He compares it to an iPhone: "In recent years, not much has changed, and the functions have remained the same. That's how it is with LED in my eyes. The efficiencies are now at 4.0, and that's relatively high, although there will probably be some more to come. And it seems that four-channel is the final destination."

This is partly why the choice fell on Mechatronix again, who could deliver this lamp as early as summer. "For a good price-quality ratio," Peter adds, describing himself as a critical customer when it comes to purchasing. "When I need something, I'm in the buyer's seat, and they certainly had to do their best. Then it's nice for both sides to be able to do such an assignment." Moreover, he is pleased with the mentality of the Mechatronix team. "Especially with the supply problems in the LED sector, I choose reliability, and they have shown that. Last fall, we had trouble with the drivers, and it was resolved within three months. Then you stand your ground and show that you have a commitment to a company. That aligns with Bredefleur's DNA: if there's an issue, you solve it from A to Z."

Expansion and Improvement for Multi-layer Strawberry Cultivation

Since 2019, the distinctive cultivation setup has been present in the greenhouse complex. From the road next to the complex, the brightly pink LED-lit 'stack' of strawberry gutters is clearly visible at the end of January. This winter, researchers are harvesting the Sonata variety from a crop planted in October. It is a true winter crop, following earlier trials with all conventional crops using June bearers under glass in spring, summer, autumn, winter, and autumn again with continuous cultivation. Ever bearers have not yet been tested in this system.

"Out of all the different cultivations, we've learned that a true winter crop works best under LED, due to the maximum controllability we have with LED lighting in such a cultivaton," explains Stef Laurijssen. "Certain periods are more suited for multi-layer cultivation as we are doing here. When there is a lot of natural light, we see that the lower layers perform less well, with issues like fruit deformation occurring."

Lighting

During the initial phase of the multi-layer cultivation system trial, it was quite challenging to find the appropriate LED lighting. However, the researchers have now successfully addressed this issue. The trial is now divided into two sections. One section is equipped with Luminaid fixtures, providing up to 300 micromol/(m2.s), while the other section has MechaTronix fixtures, providing up to 340 micromol/(m2.s). Both types of fixtures are dimmable.

"The spectra for both sections are almost identical," notes Stef. The Luminaid fixtures have an added far-red LED strip, whereas far-red is already included in the MechaTronix spectrum. Another difference is the beam angle. "The beam angle is larger with MechaTronix at 120 degrees. Luminaid fixtures have a beam angle of 90 degrees. The advantage of the larger beam angle is that it illuminates the fruits of the adjacent row as well, which helps with color development."

RH Remains a Challenge

By the end of January, the color development is looking good. Especially in the rows that haven't been harvested yet, there are many ripe red strawberries. Perhaps even too many, admits Stef while colleagues are busy harvesting.

As we step onto the tube rail lift and move up between the gutters, we encounter two vertical fans at the top. "An experiment," Stef explains. "We had these fans left over from another greenhouse section and wondered if they might be useful here. Unfortunately, they are not suitable, as the plants on the top row suffer too much from the air movement."

The vertical fans are used to reduce the relative humidity (RH) at the bottom of the system. A challenge in multi-layer cultivation is the increase in RH at the bottom, which can lead to fruit rot. "Last growing season, we worked with vertical fans and an air tube. We made holes in the tube at the level of the rows and tied off the bottom. You don't do this in a horizontal application, but this way we managed to create a more homogeneous climate across the different rows."

Optimal Lighting

One noticeable detail is the presence of tags with numbers hanging everywhere. The gutters have been divided into sections by the researchers, who are testing various cultivation strategies during the current winter crop. The goal? To investigate how best to achieve energy savings.

A winter crop of Sonata planted in October requires a total light sum of 1900 mol/m2. Using a lighting table, this light sum is distributed over the different stages of cultivation, up to a maximum of 18 mol per square meter per day when the plant is in full production. The researchers also consider the influx of natural light.

In the system with 4 layers, light penetration decreases rapidly. By the second layer, only 35% of the light remains. "Initially, we thought it was 50%, but we quickly discovered, after measuring, that it was even less." For the third layer, only 10% remains, and for the fourth layer, only 5%. For this reason, the researchers choose to use more light on the lower rows.

Strategies for Energy Savings

In their research on energy savings, the researchers are testing various strategies this winter as part of the Opti-Energy project (VLAIO LA-traject). During the most expensive hours for electricity, typically between 7-11 AM and 5-7 PM, part of the cultivation setup's lighting is turned off. "We are investigating how this cost-saving measure affects plant growth." Another strategy is to reduce the total light sum from the maximum of 1900 mol/m2 to 1800 or even 1600. Finally, they are also looking into reducing the number of lighting hours per day. Is it feasible to light for 14 hours instead of the usual 16 hours?

After this ongoing winter crop, the researchers will be able to share results. In the next phase of the multi-layer cultivation trial starting at the end of 2024, the researchers are considering using active dehumidification. The plan is to start a new cultivation round in an expanded setup in 2025.

Another development by that time is the creation of a section at the research center for growing strawberry starting material without daylight. "For this purpose, we will line a section of a greenhouse with sandwich panels," Stef explains.

Additionally, an expansion is underway. During our visit to the research center in Meerle, an old greenhouse had just been demolished. In its place, a new 1.4-hectare greenhouse will be built. Through co-creation sessions, the researchers are still discussing the exact design of this new greenhouse with growers and technology partners. "We hope to plant strawberries in this new greenhouse by mid-August."

HPS partly replaced by LED lights at Primato, Belgium: "In our view, the only logical option is to use LED"

Half of the HPS fixtures at the Belgium tomato nursery Primato have been replaced with LED toplights, allowing both intensity and spectrum control. Kevin Primato explains, "Now we can maintain the same light levels with half the lamps as we did with the HPS before. We aim to use 80% LED and 20% HPS."

Primato's greenhouses look completely different from last year when the new tomato plants were yet to arrive. Due to electricity prices, the company opted for unlit cultivation then. Kevin says, "We occasionally supplemented with SON-T lighting when electricity prices were low, but it was certainly not fully lit cultivation." Now, with tomatoes already showing good fruit growth, the situation in the greenhouses has changed. "Due to customer demand, we wanted to reintroduce lighting. In our view, the only logical option is to use LED," says Kevin.

Primato is known for its investments in sustainability. During the 2017 expansion, when the greenhouse was expanded to 12 hectares, half of it was equipped with 180 mmol SON-T lighting. Part of the lit area was then fitted with a hoistable LED interlighting installation of 75 LEDs. "We're keeping that," Kevin points out. "But half of the HPS fixtures have been removed and replaced with LED fixtures. Transitioning to full LED is a significant step, and we have the lamps available. In a new greenhouse, we wouldn't use HPS anymore, but now we can gain knowledge. Then we can decide whether to replace the rest in the coming years and redistribute the fixtures over the next few years."

The 1000W HPS has been replaced by a 1000W LED. "When the HPS is off, and the LED is on, we achieve double light levels compared to the HPS. So now, with half the lamps, we can maintain the same light levels as with the HPS before."

They chose a model with the widest possible lens for the highest possible uniformity. Initially skeptical about good light distribution with such an arrangement, they found it to be effective. The choice also fell on Mechatronix lamps for various reasons. The 3100 toplights installed can be controlled on three channels: the red, blue, and white spectra can be set separately. The entire installation is dimmable. Due to multi-channel control, they also have a boost function where they can go up to 1250W. This is possible only when the HPS is off due to the load on the strands and the transformer.

"We deliberately chose to invest more now. We believe we will get more out of it in the long run," says Kevin. 'When there is sufficient daylight, or when there is no staff in the greenhouse, we turn off the white light. We also do this when the HPS lamps are on because this spectrum is abundant in the HPS range. This way, we can optimize energy consumption."

Moreover, the HPS lamps are still used. "We heat with the CHP, but sometimes we can use the radiation in the crop head. Last week, for example, when temperatures were low. With HPS, it's also a bit better for dehumidification, and we can lower the pipe temperature by a few degrees. It means a little less heat goes into the bottom net. HPS may be a bit less efficient, but the heat is not entirely lost." At the same time, the company is already experiencing the benefits of LED. "Especially on milder nights and when the screen cloths are closed, it's nice to be able to illuminate with LED alone."



So, there are many possibilities, and it takes some getting used to. "It doesn't make things easier," Kevin confirms. "We try to automate as much as possible and use sensors, but we are still learning, and that means we still tweak a lot ourselves. At the same time, we see HPS as not a solution for the future, and that's why we made this investment. We believe in LED lights."

The goal is to get 80% of the light from LED and 20% from the HPS installation. "We can't grow at the cost level of 3 to 4 years ago. Energy prices have dropped in recent times, but it's still much more expensive than a few years ago. Yet, there is a demand for winter production. We do everything to save energy, but it must not compromise the cultivation. That still comes first."

CoolGrow Linear LED light bar Vertical Farming

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CoolGrow Linear lettuce Project

CoolGrow Linear Parsley Project

CoolGrow Linear Strawberry Project

MechaTronix CoolGrow® Linear LED grow light bar is designed for high-efficiency multi-layer cultivation in greenhouses and vertical farms. Its slim, linear design allows close positioning to the crop, maximizing light utilization and reducing energy loss. With advanced spectrum options and controllable photoperiod, growers can precisely steer plant development across all growth stages, ensuring uniform crops, higher yields, and optimized energy efficiency.

CoolGrow® Linear

Advanced LED grow lighting solutions for greenhouses and vertical farming, delivering high efficiency, uniform crops, and optimized yields

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