Founded in 1993, Wilcox Electric, Inc. (http://danwilcoxelectric.com) is a diversified, mid-sized electrical contractor based in Langley, BC, Canada that counts Chevron Canada, BC Lotto Corp., Sears Canada, Earls Restaurants and other widely-known names among its clients.
Wilcox’s horticulture lighting technology arm works with programmable light chips to develop and manufacture new, patent pending lighting solutions. Light chips are different from bulbs or LEDs – they resemble printed circuit boards that emit various coloured lights. For a given crop, spectral light output can be custom-tailored in “recipes” to optimize photosynthesis, flowering, fruiting, and other growth parameters.
Wilcox’s light chip technology is functionally and energetically superior to the lighting systems in common use in greenhouses today. In contrast to the widely used High Intensity Discharge Lighting (HID) lamps (e.g., High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) lamp systems), Wilcox’s light chips:
Consume up to 80% less electricity for an equivalent light output (100 Lumens / Watt);
Operates at 120 degrees Fahrenheit; can be placed much closer to plants;
Last significantly longer (average rated lifespan of 80,000 hours);
Degrade far slower (lumen output is reduced by merely 1% per year);
Cast light in such a way (120 degrees) that reflective and optical devices are unnecessary;
100% recyclable and have no environmental fees attached to their purchase or disposal.
