With every new client, and I mean with every new client… always comes the question about investing in grow lamps and having a winter production. Somehow people associate greenhouses and growing vegetables during the winter time.

“Having artificial lights in the greenhouse must be the best business decision ever. Yes ?” Well… Not always…

At the time of writing this article, year 2021, a lot has changed in the greenhouse artificial light systems. We still have classical HPS lamps, but also LED lights are used more and more.

So should I invest in HPS/LED artificial lights in my new tomato greenhouse, so I can have production “all year round” ?

Well it depends…

Investment in Artificial lamps, fixtures and electric cables and equipment is not a small thing. It can go from 350.000 € ( 420,000 $) for HPS systems up to a 800.000 € ( 960,000 $) for certain types of high quality LED lamps, for a 1 ha ( 2.5 acres) growing area. Plus there are costs of electric cables and power transformers.

Lamp installed power goes from 1,1 MW per 1 ha (2.5 acres) greenhouse for HPS lamps and 600 kW per 1 ha (2.5 acres) greenhouse for LED. These lamps are supposed to be switched on up to 18h per day. So can you imagine the electricity cost when every single day your power meter is counting 20 MWh per day ?

Per month it can go up to 600 MWh. And this is for a 1 ha (2.5 acres)  greenhouse. Imagine having a 5 ha (12.5 acres) project ? 

Also, if you have  a 1 ha (2.5 acres) greenhouse, then you need an 1,1-1,3 MW electric power station for your greenhouse for the lamp system only. If your greenhouse is 5ha (12.5 acres) with lamps, then a 5,5-5,7 MW electric power station is needed. These power stations are costly and in some countries it is up to the greenhouse owner to finance the materials and work for setting them up. This is something else which needs to be considered.

So at the end, having in mind all the mentioned expenses and monthly cost, here are some questions for a new greenhouse owner:

• How expensive your winter tomatoes have to be for you just to break even and to justify this investment and monthly costs ? 
• On which market do you plan to sell these tomatoes ? Is this market suitable for selling winter tomatoes and in which quantities ?
• Do people like to eat tomatoes during winter time ?
• How much of a risk will this investment put on your whole greenhouse project ?
• Is it maybe better business wise, just to stick with standard summer tomato production, from March till November ?

There are greenhouses with artificial lights and a very successful tomato production. I have seen such a greenhouses many times… mainly in Netherlands, Finland, Russia.

But for your tomato greenhouse, it all comes to the numbers game. If you have a very expensive market where this winter tomatoes can be sold for a very high price in large quantities… If you have cheap electricity or a way to produce it, then do it. If not, better stay away from lamps. Life will be easier this way.

When it comes to cut flower production (roses), lettuce production on a moving gutter system, or a medical cannabis production, then installation of an artificial light system in the greenhouse is recommended and essential. This is due to the very high yield and/or high product sales price, But that’s another story…