Cold Temperature Compatible LED Lighting At Agro-jal Farms’ New Cold Storage Facility

Noribachi, a leading smart energy LED and solar lighting company, recently saw its ultra-efficient, cold temperature compatible LED fixtures successfully installed by Mark Pereira of C.I.M. Electric at Agro-Jal Farms’ new state-of-the-art cold storage warehouse.

Agro-Jal, one of the largest farming and cooling operations in California’s Central Coast region, has consistently been ahead of the curve with energy efficiency and cutting edge cooling technology – enabling the distinction of being the exclusive berry provider for the Kentucky Derby for many years. Agro-Jal’s cold storage facilities service not only their own produce, but aid many other regional farms in cooling and processing their products.

Agro-Jal’s new state-of-the-art cooler takes advantage of the latest technologies, including ammonia-cooled wind tunnels, an ice packing machine originally conceived to make ice for zoo penguins to eat, and the new Noribachi LED fixtures. Combined, these save the facility significant amounts on monthly cooling and lighting energy costs.

Noribachi’s exclusive HIGHBAY.M fixtures deliver an astounding bright, natural white light that allows fruit and vegetable inspectors to determine ripeness without taking a trip outside, a serious inconvenience that the previous HID lighting had necessitated with its yellow tinge. Noribachi LED lighting is also completely unaffected by the freezing temperature of the 34F environment, whereas traditional lighting suffers serious lifetime shortages and turn-on delays.

The Noribachi HIGHBAY.M fixtures provide so much clean light that in one room Agro-Jal Director Eric Gamble was able to scale back from 25 fluorescent fixtures to only 7 LED fixtures while achieving superior light output and quality. This not only made the Noribachi solution as cost competitive as fluorescents, but yielded the further benefit of keeping the toxic fluorescent bulbs away from food products.

With FDA regulations already tightening around the use of fluorescents near consumables, Gamble notes, “It’s only a matter of time before the FDA says we can’t have fluorescents anywhere close to food due to their mercury content. I’m staying ahead of the game by installing LEDs now. Clearly LEDs are the future of food safe lighting. It is an obvious choice.”

Most of the LED fixtures at Agro-Jal are also equipped with motion sensing on/off technology, further reducing energy use. “It’s an incredible value for light output versus wattage,” says Mark Pereira of C.I.M. Electric, contracted to complete the installation.

With the spring harvest just around the corner at the time of installation, it was imperative for Agro-Jal to finish their new cold warehouse quickly, a task that the Noribachi LED fixtures were more than up to. “The ease of installation was an 8 out of 10, and I was very impressed by the quality of the fixture itself– it’s really well put together,” notes Pereira.