Nachhaltigkeit

The lighting in the greenhouses and climate chambers of the Faculty of Biology has been completely replaced. Sustainable LED lights now shine there instead of the metal halide lamps previously used. As a result, 858,688 kW of electricity and 326 tonnes of CO2 can be saved each year.

The new LED lighting in the climate chambers also has the advantage that less air conditioning is required, as the LEDs emit significantly less heat compared to the old lamps. This results in additional energy saving potential, although this cannot yet be precisely quantified.

Another advantage is that the new lighting can be dimmed, which was not possible with the old lamps. The LED lamps are to be dimmed down as standard and can therefore save even more energy. Depending on the type of plant and experiment, however, the lighting intensity can also be specifically adjusted. In addition, the new LED lamps have a four to five times longer service life and fewer lamps are required overall as the light scattering is reduced.

For students and researchers, the lighting has another major advantage: the new LED lamps offer the full light spectrum. With the old lamps, progressive ageing and the associated degradation of the electrodes led to changes in the light spectrum, which meant that certain wavelengths crucial for photosynthesis were missing or attenuated.

This replacement was made possible thanks to support from the state of NRW. In summer 2024, an application submitted to the state of NRW by the FM and F departments was approved. This meant that 90% of the costs for the lighting replacement were covered by the state: a funding amount of € 430,000!