Fluence adds cannabis luminaire for the home grower

As horticultural lighting specialist Fluence gets ready to change hands from ams Osram to Signify, it continues to crank out new LED products. The company has again expanded its bread-and-butter cannabis line, this time with a luminaire aimed at the home grower.

The new SPYDR Fang delivers 1,600-μmol/s photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). That’s not quite the 2,100-μmol/s PPF of the professionally-aimed SPYDR 2h introduced last month. But the new Fang delivers the same spectral content as the 2h, with a complete blue-through-red emission that Fluence brands as its PhysioSpec Broad R4, aimed at facilitating rapid plant growth.

Its 1,600-μmol/s PPF is close to the 1,700-μmol/s PPF of the SPYDR 2i, which was Fluence’s previous highest in the professional line prior to the 2h introduction. Fluence rates Fang’s efficacy as 2.5 μmol/J at 120V AC. The new gear includes a 0% to 100% dimmer.

“Craft growers and home hobbyists can leverage SPYDR Fang to achieve expert plant performance in a variety of cultivation environments,” said Fluence CEO David Cohen.

Fluence said Fang is available through its retail partners and distributors. In a separate announcement, it said Hydrofarm Holdings Group will begin offering Fang through Hydrofarm retail shops in April. Petaluma, CA–based Hydrofarm specializes in equipment for hydroponic growing environments.

Austin, TX–based Fluence, still known as Fluence by Osram, has made a number of product and project announcements since Austria’s ams Osram agreed to sell the company to Holland’s Signify for $272 million last December.

Signify CEO Eric Rondolat has said the acquisition will boost an already lively horticulture business for his company, and that he will take measures to raise Fluence’s profit levels to be more in line with Signify’s. Ams Osram and Signify expect the deal to close in the first half of this year.

Fluence is best known for cannabis lighting systems, but it also sells into other horticultural sectors. Last month, it added to its new VYNE series with luminaires aimed at tomato and cucumber growers.

Meanwhile, the company’s mainstay cannabis business continues apace, despite the regulatory toil of the cannabis trade.

MARK HALPER is a contributing editor for LEDs Magazine, and an energy, technology, and business journalist ([email protected]).

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