Fluence, a global leader in energy-efficient LED lighting technologies tailored for commercial crop production, has announced the findings of the 2025 State of the Cannabis Lighting Market Report. The report—now in its 10th edition—is independently researched and published by Cannabis Business Times and sponsored by Fluence. Over the past decade, this benchmark study has become one of the cannabis industry’s most authoritative resources, offering a comprehensive view of lighting trends, technology adoption, and the evolving needs of cultivators in North America.
This year’s report underscores a dramatic transformation within the sector: rapid LED adoption, coupled with increasing sophistication in how lighting strategies are integrated into modern cultivation environments. What began as gradual experimentation with LED systems in the early days of legalization has evolved into a widespread embrace of advanced lighting architectures that prioritize efficiency, precision, and sustainability.
A Decade of Change: LED Lighting Moves From Fringe to Foundation
When the first edition of the lighting report was released in 2016, LED technology was still emerging in commercial cannabis cultivation. Only 15% of operators at the time reported using LEDs as their primary lighting solution. The majority continued to rely on legacy high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures, which were familiar but less energy-efficient, offered limited controllability, and produced challenging heat loads.
Today, the landscape looks dramatically different. The 2025 report reveals that nearly 80% of indoor and greenhouse cultivators have adopted LED lighting as their main system. This represents one of the fastest and most consequential technology transitions in modern controlled-environment agriculture—a shift driven not only by higher energy efficiency, but also by improved crop performance, better light uniformity, and enhanced environmental control.
As energy prices fluctuate and environmental regulations tighten, cultivators are turning to LEDs as an essential investment rather than an optional upgrade. Many operators now view lighting as a fundamental lever for optimizing yield, quality, and operational predictability.
Industry Validation and Data-Driven Decision Making
“Cannabis Business Times has built the industry’s most trusted benchmark on lighting practices,” said Steve Graves, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Fluence. “As a sponsor, our role is to help ensure growers have neutral, data-driven insights to guide their decisions. This year’s findings mirror what we hear from customers every day: efficiency, consistency and controllability are essential for competitive, scalable operations.”
Graves’ remarks reflect a notable maturation in the sector. As competition increases and margins tighten, growers are no longer focused solely on maximizing output; they are also emphasizing cost management, repeatability, and long-term sustainability. The report illustrates that cultivators across North America are becoming more strategic and analytical, relying on detailed metrics to evaluate lighting choices rather than relying solely on legacy experience or anecdotal results.
Energy Efficiency: The Top Operational Challenge
One of the report’s most significant findings is that energy management remains the leading operational challenge for cannabis cultivators. According to the data, 58% of respondents identified energy costs as one of their most pressing concerns. With cannabis facilities often operating energy-intensive HVAC and lighting systems for long periods, electricity remains a major component of production costs.
In response, energy efficiency has become one of the highest purchasing priorities. Many growers are specifically looking for lighting solutions that help reduce operational expenses without compromising production capacity or product quality. LEDs, which consume significantly less energy and generate less radiant heat than traditional HPS fixtures, offer both immediate and long-term savings, making them a central feature of cost-reduction strategies.
Quality Matters: Crop Consistency as a Key Motivation for LED Adoption
While cost reduction is critical, growers are equally focused on elevating the quality of their crops. Seventy-six percent of cultivators surveyed cite crop quality—including factors such as potency, terpene expression, cannabinoid profile, and aesthetic appeal—as a primary reason for transitioning to LED systems.
LED lighting offers cultivators the ability to deliver precise, uniform light distributions and tailor spectrum to support different stages of plant growth. This level of control enables growers to fine-tune environmental variables, leading to more consistent outcomes within and across production cycles. As brands compete to differentiate themselves with premium flower and extract products, quality has become a cornerstone of business success.
Dynamic and Tunable Lighting Emerges as the Next Frontier
As cultivators become more comfortable with LED systems, many are now exploring dynamic lighting solutions designed to adapt to changing crop needs. The report notes that 43% of operators are actively evaluating tunable LED environments—systems that allow users to adjust light intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod in real time.
Dynamic lighting can support strain-specific requirements, optimize plant morphology, enhance secondary metabolite production, and help operators conserve energy by delivering only the light needed at a given moment. This approach aligns with a growing movement toward precision agriculture, where adjustments are driven by data and desired outcomes rather than fixed routines.
Controls, Monitoring and the Rise of Precision Cultivation
In addition to hardware upgrades, the report highlights increasing adoption of advanced lighting controls and integrated monitoring tools. These technologies allow cultivators to gather deeper visibility into lighting performance, environmental conditions, and plant responses at every stage of cultivation.
By combining LED systems with sensors, analytics platforms, and centralized control software, operators can automate critical processes, detect anomalies early, and standardize performance across multi-facility operations. These capabilities align with a broader industry trend toward continuous optimization—where decisions are informed by real-time insights rather than intuition.
The 2025 report paints a picture of an industry in transition, moving steadily toward more sustainable, efficient, and technologically advanced cultivation practices. LED lighting, once seen as a risky or unproven investment, has now become a cornerstone of modern cannabis production. With tunable fixtures, integrated controls, and data-driven strategies gaining ground, the next decade promises even greater innovation and precision.
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