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Lighting in a laying hen house doesn't get much attention until something goes wrong - or until something gets meaningfully better.
The problem with the old setup
The Italian facility in question was dealing with a set of familiar, chronic issues:
- Visible flicker throughout the house
- Uneven light distribution from one end to the other
- Higher energy consumption than necessary
- An environment that wasn't doing the flock any favors
None of it was catastrophic. But these are exactly the kinds of problems that quietly drag on production year after year without ever quite forcing a decision.
The Solution: STERNA by HATO Lighting
The farm upgraded to HATO's STERNA system, installed by Italian partner Andrea Freretti. Sterna was developed specifically for poultry environments - not adapted from a generic commercial product, but built around what laying hen facilities actually need.
In practical terms, that means flicker-free operation, consistent light distribution across the full length of the house, and LED efficiency that cuts energy use without compromising performance.
What made this project worth writing up, though, isn't the spec sheet. It's what happened in the weeks after the lights went on.
What the farm actually noticed
The flock calmed down.
That was the first thing the customer flagged - and it wasn't subtle. The birds were visibly more settled, moving and feeding more consistently throughout the house. Anyone with time in poultry production knows a calmer flock isn't just a welfare story. It tends to show up in the numbers too.
Weight uniformity improved.
More even lighting appears to reduce stress and support steadier feeding patterns across the flock. The customer reported measurable improvement in weight uniformity - the kind of consistency that matters when you're managing production at scale.
Working conditions got better.
This one tends to be an afterthought in lighting decisions, but it shouldn't be. Eliminating flicker made a real difference to visual comfort during long shifts inside the house. It's a small thing until you've spent eight hours under bad lights.
Energy bills dropped.
Compared to the previous installation, the farm is already seeing lower consumption. In a production context where input costs are under constant pressure, that's not a minor footnote.
Why the installation mattered as much as the product
Getting a lighting system right in a poultry building isn't just about choosing the right fixture. The configuration has to match the specific layout, ceiling height, and production objectives of that facility.
Andrea Freretti handled that side of the project, and it's worth acknowledging, because a well-specified product installed carelessly won't deliver results like these. The two things go together
The bigger picture
This wasn't a complex renovation. It was a focused upgrade, done well, in a single facility. But the results it produced in a matter of weeks say something useful:
The gap between a mediocre lighting setup and a properly designed one is larger than most producers expect, and the payback can come faster than expected too.
Lighting in poultry production has moved well past being a utility decision. It directly shapes animal welfare, flock uniformity, energy use, and working conditions for the people inside the building every day. The Sterna project in Italy is a straightforward example of what that looks like in practice.
We're happy with how this one turned out - and the farm clearly is too.
FAQ
Q: How quickly can we expect to see results after switching to LED poultry lighting?
Faster than most people anticipate. In this Italian installation, the farm noticed changes in flock behavior within just a few weeks — calmer birds, more consistent movement and feeding patterns, and improved weight uniformity across the house. Energy savings were also visible almost immediately on consumption readings. The exact timeline will vary depending on your current setup and flock conditions, but a well-executed LED upgrade typically doesn't take months to prove its value.
Q: Will better lighting actually affect my hens' behavior and production, or is that overstated?
It's a fair question, and the short answer is: yes, it's real. Light quality - particularly flicker and uniformity - has a direct effect on how hens experience their environment. Flicker that's invisible to the human eye is still picked up by birds, and it creates low-level stress that accumulates over time. Uneven lighting leads to uneven behavior: some areas of the house become more active, others less so, and that inconsistency shows up in feed intake and weight distribution. Addressing both issues tends to produce a noticeably calmer, more uniform flock.
Q: Is the STERNA system suitable for my facility, or is it designed for a specific type of operation?
STERNA was developed specifically for poultry environments, not repurposed from a generic commercial lighting range, so it's built around the conditions and requirements that laying hen facilities actually deal with. That said, no two houses are identical, and the right configuration depends on your layout, ceiling height, and production objectives. That's exactly why working with an experienced local partner matters: the product needs to be properly matched to your facility to deliver the results it's capable of.
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