For the past several years, there has been much talk about using LED's in poultry lighting. There is excitement about a light source that lasts 50,000 hours, basically dims with virtually any type dimmer and has a 3 year or longer warranty.

We have investigated LED's for quite some time and caution any distributor, grower or integrator to carefully examine the LED specifications, lumen depreciation and lastly the floor foot candles and beam spread initially and after 20,000 hours of usage. Talking with the majority of integrators and many university field research specialists we find that initial light under the fixture (mounted approx. at 9') needs to be at a minimum of 3 foot candles or the grower is faced with needing supplemental lighting during brood to meet this light requirement.

The LED bulb should have less than a 50% light loss over a 10' distance from the source. The light depreciation should be less than 3% annually. Models with external heat sink fins will collect much debris and this dirt accumulation will change the cooling effects of the LED's and lessen significantly the overall life hours and performance. All of our models have a smooth exterior (no fins).

Many LED’s being marketed today violate numerous design patents. None of the models listed below are in violation of any patents or have the approval of the patent originator.

Lastly, pricing is considerably higher when purchasing quality LED’s as compared to Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Lamps. A quality LED should offer a minimum of 3 year warranty and light depreciation must be greater than 92% at 20,000 hours to allow for a proper “Return On Investment”. All makers of quality LED's can submit independent test lab analytics showing the life expectations and other factors of their LED models. I encourage you to check this out and ask questions. The bottom line is that there are some fine LED solutions available; unfortunately, there is a lot of snake oil being sold as well. Arm yourself with the facts and the right questions to ask.