“At that point, LEDs hadn't really proven themselves at scale in flower,” he says. “But coming from Colorado, I had used Fluence [LED] lights before, so I had seen that they were going to perform.”
By the time the medical cannabis company launched operations in 2018, phase 2 buildout plans already had the company moving toward LED fixtures in flowering rooms. The impact of that change was drastic and immediate, Bouton says. CULTA effectively doubled its canopy space in LED rooms, as the fixtures’ lower heat load enables cultivators to stack benches vertically, maximizing room volume, not just floor space.
But as with any significant technology changes in a cultivation area, there was a learning curve to optimizing for new environmental conditions. “It did take almost a year of really dialing in [to get] those rooms to do exactly what we wanted,” Bouton notes, adding that Fluence had a flurry of resources to help the company navigate that process.
For example, Bouton highlights Fluence’s Photobiology Guide available on the lighting manufacturer’s website.
“It's a massive amount of knowledge and data that they've collected over the years,” Bouton says. “It's easy to understand for anybody that is growing. That Photobiology Guide alone was a really good asset for people to kind of learn the basics of environmental concerns and what to look out for [when making a switch to LEDs].
“[Fluence has] a ton of information that is just readily available to help you out. That's millions of dollars worth of research … it's just free for people that are [using] LEDs.”
With 121 completed harvests under its belt, CULTA has seen the positive impact LED lights can have on its crop, including an increase in yields (grams/square foot) of 20% to 30% (depending on the cultivar). As some of their first-installed LED fixtures start needing to be replaced as they reach the end of their useful lifespan, CULTA is sticking with Fluence as their lighting provider of choice.
“They've been as solid a partner as you could ask for,” Bouton says.
