Digilume 1000w Double Ended DE Complete Fixture

Hey everyone Nate from GrowersHouse here,  I'm here with bill the owner of UHS Urban Horticulture Supply an indoor garden equipment manufacturer and distributor who just came out with a very unique double ended lighting fixture [Digilume 1000w Complete Fixture] that he personally brought down to us we could test it under our spectroradiometer. He actually built this in conjunction with a high end light facility. Because we do a lot of testing of other lights we wanted to see how this light compares.  We did a video because this light tested very well. A little bit of the background with this light, about what it can do? Bill will talk a little about it, how did it first come about?



Bill- Well basically what we did we felt we needed to have a fixture that was better than the competition so the first thing we had to do was take a look at the industry leaders such as Gavita and ePapillon the two major brands of double ended lighting for the horticultural industry.  We did a lot of tests to see what we could get at all different heights over the plant canopy. We set out to design a superior product specifically to other similar fixtures. The way to create demand for a brand like Digilume we have to have a product that is superior.  So we took those test results at different heights and tried to determine what the benchmark was for other fixtures. Giving us a goal to beat. After designing back and forth for a few months and rigorous testing and redevelopment, we got test results that are suitable for us to put out a significant amount of PAR above the current competition.



Nate- So from what I understand Digilume is designed to be an indoor light as opposed to the Gavita or ePapillon which were designed for greenhouses and their footprints were designed for that use. The Digilume is designed to hang about 36 to 48 inches above the canopy as a primary lighting source for indoor applications not greenhouses







Bill- That's correct. We recognize the trends in other climates or parts of the world other lights work as supplemental lights for greenhouses but for north America most of the commercial setups are being designed for indoor use in a non-greenhouse environment. The funny thing is these commercial setups primary lights in indoor facilities are being outfit with lights like Gavita and ePapillon that were designed to be supplemental lights for outdoor greenhouses. It's backwards. We wanted to design a light designed specifically for indoor application.



Nate: I must say when I first looked at this light I thought I looked kind of peculiar. It has a long reflector that is kid of parabolic in shape. I was curious how it was going to test. And this is a high frequency ballast that goes up to 1150watts just like other standard DE fixtures these days.  The cool thing is seems like the intensity and distribution came down a lot more intense and a lot more even than I would expect from a reflector like this. You mentioned this reflector can be substituted in for a Gavita fixture if you wanted to?



Bill- We did a few things differently with the Digilume DE. You're right you can take this fixture here with 98% reflective German aluminum the best aluminum you can get on the market. This fixture not only had better light output but can be used in universal applications in the horticultural industry with other products that are already on the market. So yes we are able to fit no only the Digilume reflector arm but also the Gavita reflector arm and a few others.



Nate. That's great. Price point wise you guys are able to get in there at not only the same price but a little better than the competitors out there?



Bill- Yes that's right we have very competitive pricing we already have pre orders for thousands of these units for mostly larger commercial setting but also medium sized commercial settings so we are able to get the prices down. And be more cost effective not crushing the price but quite a bit less than the competitors



Nate- that's good, I mean if it performs better and it's a lower prices it is going to well in the marketplace. I can you guys we tested this before we filmed this video and the results are really good. This is the best double ended fixture we have yet to test at our facility. Check out the results with a spectral graph and the par measurements over the 4x4 Foot print at different heights.

Nate- The results for the Digilume DE, it did extremely well. This unit, at center par has the highest readings we've ever recorded for an indoor growing light.







 



Comparing it to the last DE list 1000W test we did with the ACDE, Adjust a Wing, the ePapillon, a Gavita Pro and the Magnum XXXL. Compared to a Gavita light this light is throwing out more intensity over the 4x4.  There are only a couple spots on the out perimeter where you see the Gavita does better but it seems likes this reflector design is really pumping the light directly over your canopy. The only light that we feel like really compares is the SunSystem ACDE which the best light reflector we tested last time and that light was slightly less intense in the center but had slightly better overall distribution on the outside perimeter. But you hang a lot of light in a room it's tough to see which light is better. When you consider what you need if it air cooling or want a complete fixture. Keep your eye on this one, we think we will see a lot of grow journals talk about this light and what kind of performance it's putting down as far as plants putting out quantity and quality.



This is Nate from GrowersHouse with another cool light to the indoor growing industry. Have a good one.