PigLED Lighting

PigLED description

One common feature of all living creatures is the existence of biological rhythms. These biological rhythms are quite variable and sometimes last from minutes to years. However, almost every living organism has a rhythm that is adapted to the 24 hours of the day. This biological rhythm is called the circadian rhythm, influenced and shaped by external sources arrive daily. The persistence or even change of these will affect the neurohormonal processes of the animal. One such process is melatonin secretion. These processes directly affect the reproductive performance of animals. Several studies have been conducted on these processes, but it is still not entirely clear how much an external stimulus affects these processes.

One main source is light

Light has long been known to affect the lifecycles of animals, yet light has a prominent role in pig farming mostly in the insemination room. It is a basic requirement that the sow should be on 150-200 Lux at eye level for proper oestrus. However, the current line of requirements for light is just about it in todays pig farms.
In most cases, the light serves only one purpose: the worker must see the animals so not enough attention payed when designin to the needs of the animals or how the planned lighting will affect the efficiency of production or just meet the basic biological needs of the animals. Considering these in mind, current lighting systems are underused, not helping the needs of pigs or working with high costs producing such electricity bills. In addition to all this, what we rarely take into account is how it will affect the life performance of the animals. The properly designed lighting can achieve a stimulating or a calming result for both humans and animals. The more and more important animal welfare considerations will sooner or later make the correct use of light target unavoidable as well as the full satisfaction of the animal's needs.

Starting point for development

Pigs vision is dichromatic, which means they are basically able to perceive two colors well. Green and blue are very good, but red light is not or very poorly perceived. Pigs perceive green light most intensely.

The attached figure also shows well the photopic spectral response of pigs against humans

Vision of typical swine photopic spectral response

typical human photopic spectral response

Humans and pigs see differently, and the lighting requirements are different too.

Two simple examples of color perception in a pig's environment:

the worker arriving in a bright red dress is perceived by the pig as black.
if the lighting in the barn is completely red, the pig perceives its entire surroundings as dark.

Because the pigs are basically good at seeing, yet their vision is slightly different from humans, the basic comfort of the pigs are greatly influenced by the environment and the way we illuminate them. The main goal is that the needs of the animals (which are necessary for optimal production) and the requirements for the workers to work optimally overlap the lighting as much as possible.
That's why we at Alternconsult have developed a solution that combines biological and technical knowledge with state-of-the-art technology.
Alternconsult PigLED Sow room lighting system at Mátészalka, Hungary

Alternconsult PigLED Sow room lighting system at Mátészalka, Hungary

We have developed a lighting solution that tries to stimulate in the right place (insemination and farrowing room) and create a calming effect in the right place (rearing, fattening), of course with the right settings. We can both display the southern sunshine and create a working light that the animal perceives as dark, while the worker can do his job without disturbing the animals at rest. The design of such and similar systems can have long-term benefits.
The PigLED luminaire uses the most efficient japanese LED light sources ever, freeing the environment from significant CO2 emissions through lower energy consumption. This will significantly reduce the ecological footprint of the product and minimize its harmful effects on the environment. All parts of the PigLED comply with the RoHS (Reduce of Hazardous Substances) 2011/65 EU directive. This means that it does not contain toxic heavy metals and other substances that are seriously harmful to the environment.

Alternconsult PigLED Sow farm cleaning room lighting system at Mátészalka, Hungary

About the PigLED

     Innovative Japanese technology
     We can influence processes that can be turned to profits.
     In line with production goals, we can stimulate or just have a calming effect.
     Animal production will be much more predictable and even.
     We can design systems that are easy to change, easy to measure and easy to fine tune. (manual / computer control)
     We can create a better and safer working environment for both our staff and our animals.
     We can choose a cost-effective solution for the future. (serviceable, upgradeable, modifiable)
     Real environmentally friendly solution.

Specifications:

Power Supply	V, Hz	90-305 VAC 47-63 Hz
Performance	W	48,5
Luminous flux	lumen	8.000
Efficiency	lumen/W	149,5
Frekvencia	Hz	N/A
Colour Temperature	K	2700-6500
Aperture Angle	⁰	150
Dimmability	%	yes 10-100
Flicker-free light		yes
Number of LED	pcs	1
LED Type		COB
Protection	IP	IP 67
Expected lifetime	hour	min. 100.000
Operating temperature	⁰C	-40/+40
Certification		CE/RoHS
Lenght/Widht/Height	mm	dia: 180 mm/80 mm
Weight	kg	2
Material		Aluminium;Silicone
Service available		yes
Warranty	years	5

PigLED won a product award!

The prizes of the Product Award for Animal Husbandry and Crop Production were handed over at the headquarters of Hód-Mezőgazda Zrt. at Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary.