Additional Information

As a variety of new poultry specific LED lamps have become available, many broiler growers are considering replacing their older technology bulbs with LED bulbs to reduce energy costs. Most broiler grow-out programs use dimmers to reduce light intensity to maximize performance. Incandescent, cold cathode compact fluorescents, and LED bulbs respond differently to dimming and changes in bulb technology may require different dimmers or dimmer profiles/curves. Because of the large financial investment required to replace all the bulbs in a broiler house, broiler growers and integrators have been requesting lamp and dimmer information to assist in bulb, dimmer and dimmer profile selection. The purpose of this project was to provide an internet available tool for broiler growers and integrators to learn about the performance of specific bulbs when paired with specific dimmers. There are many LED lamps that can work well in a poultry setting, however, there are some combinations of LED lamps and dimmers that are not well matched and should not be used. Currently this project has evaluated the impact of 8 different commercial dimmers on the performance of 15 different LED bulbs. In addition, many of the dimmers have multiple dimmer profiles that were evaluated. An integrated spectrometer system was used to individually evaluate each bulb, dimmer, and dimmer setting combination. This testing system recorded input and output voltage, power consumption, luminous flux (light output) and spectral power distribution of the bulbs tested. These measurements were recorded for each combination of bulb, dimmer, and dimmer settings from 0 - 100% at 10% increments. Using the tabs at the top of the page you can access the scores of the bulb-dimmer interactions and view by bulb listing or by dimmer listing. The information can be sorted by column. Graphs of the light output curves, efficiency, and spectral power distribution (not yet available) of each bulb-dimmer combination are available by clicking the tab at the end of row of each table. Information on each bulb and dimmers is provided when available. There is also a tab at the top of the page to access a glossary of terms. Other important information to consider when choosing the best lamps for your broiler house are:

1. What is the lumen output of the bulb needed to provide the necessary light level at bird height? Bulbs will list wattage and lumens produced by the bulb. The wattage/lumen output you require will vary with the ceiling height of your house.
2. Bulb design (shape) such as A19 compared to PAR. The A19 tends to be used more with lower ceiling heights while the PAR design may be needed with higher ceilings. This along with lamp placement will impact light level and uniformity of light level throughout the house.
3. What is the cost of the bulb and what is the warranty on the bulb?
4. What is the estimated hour life expectancy or how will the bulb last?
5. What is the power factor for the bulb (range up to 1.0). This is one way to determine the efficiency of the bulb. An example of a very high power would be >0.90.
6. Some bulbs now have constant current drivers which maintain a constant lumen output over a wider range of voltage conditions. Variations of voltage being delivered to a grower’s farm may vary during peak usage times and impact bulb performance. Low voltage could for example require a higher dimmer setting for your bulbs to come back on (re-fire) or cause only a limited number to come back on after bulbs are turned off for a period of time.

All or most of this bulb information should be available in the bulb literature or is available from the bulb distributor or manufacturer.

Authors: Sarah Morrissey, Dan Hougentogler, Greg Keane, Robert Alphin and Eric Benson
Contact Info:
Dr. Eric Benson, Robert Alphin, or Dan Hougentogler
531 South College Ave.
Rm 044
Newark De 19716
(302) 831-2524
LEDlighting@udel.edu