How LED Lighting Helps GoodLeaf Farms Increase Food Production

LED Signify Goodleaf

Dec 6, 2020

Image: an example of a warehouse farm with Philips Horticulture LED lighting.

If your salad greens come from GoodLeaf Community Farms, they probably grew under LEDs. GoodLeaf’s new state-of-the-art 4,000 m2 indoor vertical farm in Guelph, Ontario is fully automated and equipped with the latest LED lighting technology for growing indoors. GoodLeaf grows and packs fresh, nutritious, and pesticide-free micro and baby greens year-round, which the company supplies to some of Canada’s largest retail chains.

GoodLeaf equipped the farm with Philips Horticulture LED lighting from Signify to and increase food production, enhance flavour and improve nutritional value. The energy efficient Philips Greenpower LED production modules enable GoodLeaf to shorten production cycles. As it provides a controlled environment it also allows GoodLeaf to produce all year round without any lighting, temperature and pesticide worries, and reducing waste at the same time.

GoodLeaf Farms started working with Philips products in 2013 at the company’s test facility in Truro, Nova Scotia. Signify has built up a substantial track record in more than 400 projects in the horticultural lighting market since 1995, developing ways to apply lighting technology to crop farming. With cutting-edge LED innovations, the company can custom-build a science-based solution for growers providing data and plant expertise to optimize yields.

This expertise is built on close collaboration with Signify’s horticulture partners and through research at its own vertical farming research facilities in the Netherlands, called GrowWise Center. Vertical farming, or city farming, means that plants can be grown indoors in a controlled environment without sunlight. This is ideal for propagating young plants, cultivating full head crops and growing healthier, pesticide-free crops. It maximizes production by using LEDs to light multiple layers of crops, achieving a higher yield with a smaller footprint.

This large-scale production technique is ideal if you want to cultivate in a customized, closed environment of more than 2000 m2. Plant factories are very high-tech, highly automated, and can be serviced by robots. They also have fully automated irrigation, climate control and logistics with a growth process and production line that can be tailored to the crop. Sensors and data help to manage, steer and improve the process.

“The support from Signify and the folks from GrowWise Center is phenomenal,” says Jeff McKinnon, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of GoodLeaf Community Farms and TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture. “We meet with them monthly. The data they collect cover the data we collect as well, so sharing that knowledge has been excellent, and the service over their Philips’ products has been exceptional.”

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • LEDVANCE Expands Ontario Presence with New Specification Agent

    LEDVANCE Expands Ontario Presence with New Specification Agent

    LEDVANCE is pleased to announce the appointment of Sterling Architectural Products Ltd. (Sterling Lights) as their new specification agent in Ontario. This partnership strengthens LEDVANCE’s presence in the region and reinforces their commitment to serving the professional lighting design and specification community with innovative, reliable lighting solutions. With decades of experience and a service-driven mindset,… Read More…

  • May 29, 2025 - Eureka Wins Three 2025 Red Dot Awards for Product Design

    Eureka Wins Three 2025 Red Dot Awards for Product Design

    Eureka is pleased to announce that its Velia, Cirra, and Junction luminaires have each received a 2025 Red Dot Design Award for Product Design. It is the 11th consecutive year that Eureka products have been honored with this prestigious award, which is a testament to the company’s consistency and relentless drive to design exceptional luminaires.… Read More…


Design

  • The Difference Between Accent, Ambient & Task Lighting: Ultimate Guide

    The Difference Between Accent, Ambient & Task Lighting: Ultimate Guide

    In interior design, lighting is not just about brightening the room. Sensitive lighting layout is the key in the whole aesthetic atmosphere. An outstanding lighting solution will not rely on one type of fixture. Rather, it is through the combination of different types of lighting. Accent, ambient, and task lighting are three basic types of… Read More…

  • Graphic Office Interiors Enhance Their Office Space, Incorporating State-Of-The-Art Lighting Solutions

    Graphic Office Interiors Enhance Their Office Space, Incorporating State-Of-The-Art Lighting Solutions

    Graphic Office Interiors, a renowned office design and furnishings company serving Vancouver Island since 1966, embarked on a unique lighting project for their personal office in Saanichton, BC. This project marked the first collaboration between Kelly Inglis of Mac’s II Agencies and Graphic Office Interiors’ in-house registered interior designer, Laura Harlos. Known for their exclusive Steelcase furniture line, modular moveable… Read More…


New Products

  • Eureka Announces New Accessories for Scout Luminaire

    Eureka Announces New Accessories for Scout Luminaire

    Eureka has announced the enhancement of its Scout luminaire family with the introduction of new accessories and a new color palette. Three new diffusers have been introduced. Bell is minimalist, translucent and cloche-shaped. Pebble introduces a soft touch and an ambient glow in a distinct, oval-shaped diffuser. Orb is sleek and dome-shaped, adding a touch… Read More…

  • Amico: SOLAR ECLIPSE – 2X4 Multi-Functional Luminaire

    Amico: SOLAR ECLIPSE – 2X4 Multi-Functional Luminaire

    The Solar Eclipse Series provides a multi-functional luminaire that supports the demands of the hospital environment. The sleek and modern design merges architectural aesthetics with exceptional lighting performance to improve patient comfort while maximizing clinical efficiencies. This architectural patient room fixture offers reading, ambient, and exam functionalities and an optional night light. Multi-functional capabilities provide… Read More…