The DLC’s Horticultural Lighting QPL- What You Need to Know

Valued at $7.8 billion last year, the global controlled environment agriculture (CEA) market is expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 12.2% and expected to reach $22 billion by 2033, according to a recent market research report. With lighting as the largest operational cost in CEA facilities, opportunities abound for indoor growers to save energy and reduce expenses with the right lights.

The average efficacy of listed products has increased by nearly 25% since the DLC launched its horticultural lighting qualified products list (QPL) in 2019. There are now over 1,375 products from nearly 150 manufacturers on the Horticultural QPL – a more than 54% increase in listed products since 2020.

The DLC’s Horticultural QPL offers CEA lighting specifiers and contractors increasing product variety, and CEA growers ample opportunities for savings. The list features a range of useful information for all parties involved in horticultural lighting projects.

For example, did you know….

• The QPL lists only horticultural light fixtures that meet rigorous third-party verified performance standards for efficiency and light output, which are designed to ensure that each listed product is optimized for plant growth.
• Growers and their contractors can use the QPL to find lights tailored to a crop’s exact needs. Whether it’s the right spectrum, intensity, or light distribution for specific species or growth stages, the Horticultural QPL allows users to search for key lighting metrics - Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF), Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy (PPE), spectra, distribution, controllability information, and more.
• Knowing a light fixture’s spectrum (Spectral Quantum Distribution) is key for plant performance, and the QPL provides this for every listed product—ensuring species- and lifecycle-appropriate lighting choices.
• The QPL ensures that all listed fixtures report light output based on PAR – a feature that assists in understanding which products truly support photosynthesis and plant growth.
• PPF shows total usable light output per second. All fixtures on the QPL report this, giving a clear measure of a product’s potential for plant productivity.
• PPE on the QPL shows how effectively a fixture turns electricity into plant-usable light in the PAR range—so growers can invest in efficiency, not just power.
• Proper light levels and uniformity can make or break crop yield. The QPL helps growers evaluate and compare beam distribution types to ensure that coverage is uniform across the plant canopy.
• Since many utilities offer rebates for DLC-listed fixtures, growers who select products from the QPL can reduce their lighting upgrade costs and increase ROI.

The DLC’s Horticultural Lighting Program aims to accelerate widespread adoption of high performance, energy-saving LED technology in the horticultural lighting sector. The Horticultural QPL is a key tool in advancing that goal. Accessing the QPL is simple – just create a free My DLC account to start searching.