National Chi Nan University (NCNU) researchers have helped water bamboo farmers in Nantou County cut electricity costs by 80 percent and reduce light pollution by replacing farmers’ sodium lamps with LED ones.
There are up to 1,800 hectares of water bamboo farms in the county’s Puli Township (埔里), which supply nearly 90 percent of the nation’s demand for the crop.
While water bamboo is usually grown from April to October every year, farmers use lighting at night to boost crop yields, but the sodium lights they used emitted a harsh glare, affecting nearby residents and traffic safety.
Photo courtesy of National Chi Nan University
Farmers paid electricity fees of NT$6,823 every two months for the sodium lights to illuminate farms covering 1,357.8m2, NCNU College of Science and Technology dean Tsai Yung-pin (蔡勇斌) said on Wednesday.
Tsai led a team in a smart farming and social responsibility project funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which began with water bamboo farms in the township’s Fangli Borough (房里).
After switching to LED lights optimized by NCNU researchers, the farmers’ electricity bills fell to NT$1,199, or savings of more than 80 percent, he said.
The amount of water bamboo produced under the two lighting methods was similar at 1,200kg to 1,300kg, while LED devices, emitting softer purple light, mostly reduced light pollution, he said.
The team detailed their findings in a paper published in the journal Applied Sciences last month, with the journal’s cover featuring an image of water bamboo farms bathed in purple light.
The team is to extend the research to farms in Jhuge Borough (珠格) this year, hoping to determine how many LED lamps are needed for farms covering up to 0.5 hectares, Department of Civil Engineering chairman Chen Ku-fan (陳谷汎) said.
While an LED lamp costs NT$3,500, which is more expensive than a NT$2,000 sodium lamp, the former is more durable and energy-efficient in the long run, NCNU Department of Applied Chemistry chairman Kuo Ming-yu (郭明裕) said.
Kuo advised the Council of Agriculture to consider adding such LED lamps to its funding list for agricultural materials and equipment to help alleviate the financial burden on farmers.
He aims to improve the LED lights to make their direction adjustable and allow the light to be more evenly distributed over broader areas, Kuo added.
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