Phyto-Sync™ Plant Biofeedback System from
Biofeedback Control of LED Lights – Plant Controlled Lighting Technology
Lighting is the most energy consuming and expensive, yet the least controlled factor for plant growth in indoor
and greenhouse cultivation systems. Other inputs (water, nutrients, etc.) can be monitored and controlled to
maximize resource use efficiency. But light energy consumption, which represents up to 30% of the final cost
of the production cycle, is still being controlled by a technology invented in 1884 by John Henry Holmes: the
light switch: on or off. Indoor farms currently just turn lights on at high intensities and up to 80% of that energy
is wasted by the plants themselves. Plants automatically protect themselves from burning and wilting when
light intensity is too high, by dissipating the absorbed light as waste heat. This is called non-photochemical
quenching. Indoor controlled environments allow us to make a lighting system that adapts to the plants instead
of forcing the plants to adapt to the light, as they must in nature.
PhytoSynthetix (parent of Grow-Ray Lighting), currently in partnership with the University of Georgia, has
developed a biological feedback control system for LED lights that allows plants to communicate with the
lights. The system constantly monitors plant light usage based on real time chlorophyll fluorescence. It feeds
this information back to a controller which continuously modifies the light output based on the plants’ current
needs, for maximum efficiency. The plants are in control of their own lights!
www.Grow-Ray.com
[email protected]
303-993-9118
©2015 Grow-Ray Lighting, LLC
Phyto-Sync™ Plant Biofeedback System from
The Phyto-Sync™ Biofeedback System
(In Development – Estimated Availability Q3 2016)
Biofeedback control of LED lights represents the next step in lighting optimization for indoor cultivation
systems. With biofeedback it is possible to reduce energy consumption by up to 30% compared to noncontrolled conventional lighting systems. Lights produce heat, so reducing light usage results in lower air
conditioning and cooling costs. Together these represents an increase of more than 40% in biomass produced
per dollar spent on electricity.
Our patented technology provides a dynamic system that adapts to most kinds of plants. The system monitors
changes in photosynthetic parameters and tunes the LEDs automatically and continuously based on ever
changing plant physiology. If the plant is dissipating too much heat, the lights are turned down automatically. If
the plant photosynthesis falls below optimum, the lights are turned up automatically. Maximum plant health
goes hand in hand with optimized energy usage. It’s a win-win scenario.
The biofeedback control system includes: 1) A sensor to measure the plant’s light use efficiency; 2) A control
system to change the light output based on the plants light use efficiency; and 3) Grow-Ray™ LED lights.
The plant sensor is a low cost chlorophyll fluorometer developed by PhytoSynthetix (parent company of GrowRay) and UGA that measures plants’ chlorophyll fluorescence. By measuring fluorescence it is possible to
determine how efficiently the light absorbed by the plants is being used. The control system is an electronic
interface which uses software to receive the signal from the chlorophyll fluorometer and uses it to calculate the
plants’ photosynthetic rates.
Based on information from the plant sensor, the control software makes the decision on how to change the
lights output to match the plants requirements and increase their light use efficiency.
The last part of the system is the LED lights. Besides having the benefit of low heat emission, the LEDs have
the advantage of a high level of controllability. The LEDs can be controlled at a microsecond range, which
allows the biofeedback system to match the light output to plants’ light energy requirements almost
instantaneously. There are three aspects to controlling the LEDs: Frequency, duty cycle and power.
www.Grow-Ray.com
[email protected]
303-993-9118
©2015 Grow-Ray Lighting, LLC
Phyto-Sync™ Plant Biofeedback System from
Unlike traditional light sources, it is possible to control the frequency of LED lights. Frequency is the rate at
which the LEDs turn on and off per second. This happens within a few microseconds, so our eyes cannot see
it, but plants are highly sensitive to these short bursts of light. During a single on-off cycle, a leaf can absorb
the photons of light, process the energy, and then be ready to absorb more light.
The second adjustment is the LED duty-cycle. This is how long the lights are on or off during each pulse of
light. The lights can be on for part of the time and off for a brief moment, resulting in a short dark period
between flashes of light. Conversely, the lights can be off for most part of the time resulting on a longer dark
period between flashes of light. The different scenarios are beneficial to plants depending on their current
needs.
The last adjustment is the power delivered to the LEDs during each pulse of light. The higher the power is, the
higher the output light intensity per flash. And as we have seen, more is not always better for the plants.
Combining these three adjustments, it is possible to match the plants’ requirements, providing the right amount
of light and the necessary dark period to increase plants light use efficiency and avoid energy waste. As a
result, less energy is required to achieve the same biomass production as non-controlled light systems. The
biofeedback control of LED lights is now in its prototype phase and being tested. By further developing this
technology, we intend to reduce the operational costs of controlled environment agriculture, offering a real
solution to improve indoor farm systems and expand the barriers to food and high value crop production.
The photos below show actual plants growing with and without biofeedback. In the standard image, taken in
normal light, you can see how much healthier the plants look, and how much less light they are using, based
on their photosynthetic needs. In the infra-red photo you can see the actual heat distribution as it relates to
both the lighting elements and the plants themselves. In the biofeedback chamber you can see that the LEDs
do not emit infra-red radiation downward towards the plants as they do in the normal light chamber. The
biofeedback grown plants are cool and productive while in the non-biofeedback chamber both the lights and
the plants are hotter.
www.Grow-Ray.com
[email protected]
303-993-9118
©2015 Grow-Ray Lighting, LLC
Phyto-Sync™ Plant Biofeedback System from
Biofeedback Advantages: Plant Controlled Lighting Technology:
Plants “Talk” to the Lights via Phyto-Sync™
 Increases biomass and plant health
 Reduces electric and cooling bills
 Continuous tuning in real time
 Based on the plant’s current needs
 Matches the plant’s capacity for growth
 Technology patented by Grow-Ray™ founders
 Two patents issued
 Additional patents pending
Plants are in Control: While other lighting systems are arbitrarily controlled by humans, Phyto-Sync™ is the
first lighting system to be controlled by plants.
Up to 30% Energy Savings! Optimizing plants’ light use efficiency results in increased biomass production
with less energy consumption. Reducing plant’s energy waste as heat, Phyto-Sync™ avoids electrical energy
conversion into light energy that will never be used by plants, and must be actively managed with air
conditioning. The final result is increased revenue per gram of biomass reducing overall operational costs.
This is over and above the 40% savings LEDs offer compared to traditional lighting.
Autonomous System: We do the job for you! Unlike other lighting systems, Phyto-Sync™ monitors plants
light use efficiency and automatically adjusts itself to match plant’s requirements continuously in real time.
Increased Plants Production: The Phyto-Sync™ system increases the flow of light through the plant’s
photosynthetic pathways while reducing the plant’s production of waste heat. It ensures healthy and fast
development at early stages of production and provides just the necessary amount of light in the final stages
ensuring maximum plant growth.
Phyto-Sync™ Patented Biological Feedback System: Controls LED lights, bringing value to the customer
by providing higher yields from horticultural products with lower energy use. The ability to tune the light source
based on plants’ requirements provides optimal plant growth. Combining the benefits of LED technology with
the biological feedback system, it is possible to increase plant productivity using less energy. Reduced energy
consumption means more profit. Phyto-Sync™ in conjunction with our lighting system (Bloom-Ray™, VegRay™ and Side-Ray™), creates better plant productivity and health than conventional HID lighting system and
other non-biofeedback LED systems with up to 30% less energy consumption.
Bloom-Ray™ 250-750 Watt
User Adjustable LED Light
Veg-Ray™ Single Module
300 Watt LED Light
Side-Ray™ 100 Watt LED
Supplemental Side Light
Product specifications are subject to change in the interest of product improvement.
www.Grow-Ray.com
[email protected]
303-993-9118
©2015 Grow-Ray Lighting, LLC