Fluid-cooled led-based lighting methods and apparatus for controlled agricultural environments having a vertically-stacked multiple-level growing area

Abstract

A controlled agricultural environment includes a vertically-stacked multiple-level growing area and a fluid-cooled LED-based lighting system including multiple fluid-cooled LED-based lighting fixtures disposed in the vertically-stacked multiple-level growing area. The environment also includes a hydronics system having a coolant circuit fluidically coupled to the fluid-cooled LED-based lighting system and multiple secondary heating loops to separately heat each level of the vertically-stacked multiple-level growing area. Each lighting fixture comprises a frame having one or more channels, one or more LED modules thermally coupled to the frame, control circuitry coupled to the frame and electrically coupled to the LED module(s) to receive AC power and to supply regulated electrical power to the LED module(s), and one or more pipes thermally coupled to the channel(s) and fluidically coupled to the coolant circuit to carry a fluid coolant that extracts heat generated by the LED module(s).