Modelling Environmental Burdens of Indoor-Grown Vegetables and Herbs as Affected by Red and Blue LED Lighting

Giuseppina Pennisi, Esther Sanyé-Mengual, Francesco Orsini, Andrea Crepaldi, Silvana Nicola, Jesús Ochoa, Juan A. Fernandez and Giorgio Gianquinto
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Giuseppina Pennisi: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (Distal), Research Centre in Urban Environment for Agriculture and Biodiversity (ResCUE-AB), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Esther Sanyé-Mengual: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (Distal), Research Centre in Urban Environment for Agriculture and Biodiversity (ResCUE-AB), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Francesco Orsini: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (Distal), Research Centre in Urban Environment for Agriculture and Biodiversity (ResCUE-AB), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Andrea Crepaldi: Flytech s.r.l., Via dell’Artigianato, 65, Zona artigianale Paludi, 32010 Belluno, Italy
Silvana Nicola: Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, DISAFA-VEGMAP, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10097 Grugliasco, Italy
Jesús Ochoa: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII 48, 30203 Cartagena, Spain
Juan A. Fernandez: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII 48, 30203 Cartagena, Spain
Giorgio Gianquinto: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (Distal), Research Centre in Urban Environment for Agriculture and Biodiversity (ResCUE-AB), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: Notwithstanding that indoor farming is claimed to reduce the environmental pressures of food systems, electricity needs are elevated and mainly associated with lighting. To date, however, no studies have quantified the environmental and economic profile of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lighting in indoor farming systems. The goal of this study is to quantify the effect of varying the red (R) and blue (B) LED spectral components (RB ratios of 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4) on the eco-efficiency of indoor production of lettuce, chicory, rocket and sweet basil from a life cycle perspective. The functional unit of the assessment was 1 kg of harvested fresh plant edible product, and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) method was employed for impact assessment. Even though most of the materials of the LED lamp and electronic elements were imported from long distances (14,400 km), electricity consumption was the largest contributor to the environmental impacts (with the LED lamps being the main electricity consumers, approximately 70%), apart from the resources use indicator, where the materials of the lamps and the mineral nutrients were also relevant. RB0.5 was the most energy-efficient light treatment but had the lowest eco-efficiency scores due to the lower crop yields.

Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Life Cycle Costing (LCC); Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.); Chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.); Rocket ( Eruca sativa L.); Basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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