How a thriving business took an important step forward
Family-owned company LS Santini harvests fresh Santini chrysanthemums every day. At their nursery in Bleiswijk, they have maintained high quality standards for more than thirty years. The setup and organization of their production process are focused on quality, sustainability, diversity, and continuity. LS Santini distinguishes itself in the market by growing a complete range of colors and varieties, with sales primarily directed toward premium florists.
“Faced with rising energy prices, we switched to energy-efficient Agrolux LED lighting.”
Leon Hofman, Owner
Why switch to LED?
To cope with rising energy prices in 2021, LS Santini decided to replace its SON-T lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting.
“We closely followed developments at other nurseries,” says owner Leon Hofman, “and although there were still challenges related to humidity and heat management, we decided to make the switch. We knew LED would affect chrysanthemum growth differently than SON-T lighting, but after considering all the options, we were convinced that this investment would move our business forward. Thanks to subsidies and support from our bank, we fully transitioned to LED in 2022 and 2023.”
“Agrolux came up with the best solutions for our nursery.”
Leon Hofman
Why Agrolux?
“Together with my father and sister, we invited two companies to discuss our requirements and the challenges we faced in transitioning our Santini nursery to LED lighting,” Leon Hofman explains.
“Ultimately, Agrolux presented the solutions that best met our specific needs. They understood exactly what our business required to make this transition successful and how to achieve it.”
“Everything turned out exactly as we had planned on the drawing board.”
Leon Hofman
Lighting Strategy
“Our nursery now operates with a fully LED-based lighting system,” Hofman continues.
“The transition took place in two phases. In the autumn of 2022, we started with the WEGA Max 1040 W fixtures (spectrum: R90G5B5). In 2023, these were followed by WEGA Plus Dual Channel 760 W fixtures with one R90G5B5 channel and one far-red channel. That far-red spectrum is essential for chrysanthemums. Agrolux developed a lighting plan, and the implementation matched exactly what we had envisioned during the planning stage.”
Results
“The results exceeded our expectations,” says Leon Hofman enthusiastically. “Of course, we achieved significant energy savings, but we are also producing more stems while using less energy, something we had not anticipated to this extent. The crop has become more uniform overall, which means less labor is required to achieve the same results.”
In figures:
- 34% lower natural gas consumption compared to the previous SON-T lighting situation.
- 14% lower electricity consumption thanks to the switch to LED lighting.
- 8.5% higher production, while overall energy consumption has decreased.
Installation and Partners
The transition to LED also involved additional measures such as installing extra dehumidification systems and determining the minimum temperature required for growing chrysanthemums.
Thanks to the control provided by the Priva climate computer, LS Santini now has these climate-related factors well under control. Enova, based in Capelle aan den IJssel, handled the integration of the energy system with the climate computer. Voshol Heat and Electrical Engineering also played an important role as a partner in LS Santini’s transition to LED lighting.
“I am very pleased with this transition. Thanks to Agrolux and our partners, everything is now running smoothly.”
Leon Hofman
