A foolproof way to ensure your cannabis business fails is to overpromise and underdeliver. Businesses today are constantly bombarded with advertisements for goods and services promising to help manage production, decrease costs or increase profitability. A clever marketing campaign shown at the right time can result in a sale simply because the ad included certain keywords and exciting imagery.
However, what matters most is what occurs after the sale is complete. Is the purchase shipped on time and delivered in good condition? Is customer support available during set up and for ongoing maintenance? Does the product perform as promised? Perhaps most important, is it consistently reliable?
For cannabis cultivators, these questions are increasingly important. As the cannabis industry has expanded into new markets, the number of cultivation operations across the United States has increased dramatically. This rapid growth has brought with it increased competition, overproduction and price compression creating extremely tight margins. In order to compete and thrive, cannabis cultivators cannot afford to experience delays in production, cost overruns, and diminished revenue due to plant losses.
What fails in a grow operation?
Obstacles are inevitable. Maintaining a functioning environment requires a level of attention to both the equipment and product that can be hard to manage. In California alone, there were an estimated 7,600 cultivation licenses distributed among the state in 2021. All of that growth means plenty of opportunity for failures to arise. Below are a few prominent pain points every grower should understand:
- PH balances. Growing quality cannabis requires that the soil maintains an optimal pH balance so that the plant can properly absorb the nutrients. It can be easy for the pH to fall out of that balance, so it is crucial that this is monitored closely.
- Water temperature. Just like with any house plant, warmer water temperature can stunt growth quickly and be detrimental to the plant.
- Incorrect pesticides. It is no secret that certain pesticides are not only harmful to humans, but to the plants as well. Toxic chemicals intended to kill various insects can make their way into the roots of the plant, ultimately destroying further growth or making product that cannot pass regulatory tests.
- Lighting. Without the right lighting, a grow operation comes to a screeching halt, slowing production and placing an entire operation at risk.
Of all the common issues above, improper lighting can prove to be most detrimental. Not all lights are created equal, and that is why the engineering behind them is so important. However in the world of cannabis lighting, it can be difficult to discern fact from fiction, especially when the messages are coming from trusted brands. But instances of falsified IP ratings, faulty drivers and constant returns have become all too frequent in cannabis lighting. It is critically important to understand how lighting systems can fail in order to select the right solution for any grow operation.
Why lighting failures matter
Most grow lights are susceptible to failure with a single power surge. Without replacements on hand, production is kaput. Many companies take days to replace busted lights, and the cycle is lost by the time the problem gets corrected. But the risk to production and the plants themselves is not even necessarily the worst result of a lighting failure. Even one instance of failure can prove catastrophic, leading to a series of damaging outcomes, including:
- Supply chain disruptions. A lighting failure does not only affect the grow operation, but everyone that is expecting that product down the line. The delay in a grow operation becomes a delay for businesses that can eventually lead to a lack of product on dispensary shelves.
- Partner relationship impacts. Missing or delaying delivery on a promised product shipment can quickly sour any relationship. If these delays occur more than once or for extended periods, partners and customers will quickly work to find alternative sources.
- Reputation. Once a grower gains a reputation for failing on delivery, other potential partners will steer clear of doing business with the operation.
Spectrum King LED understands the importance of the long-term implications of lighting failures, which is why the company has invested for years in finely tuned engineering backed by industry experts. For example, the engineering behind the Phoenix line—industry leading diodes, an IP 65 rating and dual surge protection—makes these lights the new standard for any operation. And the numbers speak for themselves. Currently, Spectrum King has a defect tolerance of .03%, meaning that for every thousand fixtures being used in the market, only an average of 2-3 will ever have any issues. The company still hasn’t had a single fixture from its Phoenix line returned for mechanical failure, by anyone, ever.
Growing cannabis is not easy work. There is a lot that goes into creating a successful ecosystem, and the last thing a grower wants to worry about is a faulty lighting assembly. The future of cultivation is here, and it begins with LED lights. Reach out to Spectrum King LED at sales@spectrumkingled.com or click here to make the switch.
