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Our new section called "Truth in Advertising" is meant to inform you what some of the more popular misconceptions are in regards to LED Grow Lights and what is factual vs. what sounds good to the general public.
1) The LED wattage is of particular importance as many companies are using the 2W, 3W, 5W, 6W or even higher wattage LEDs and claiming that they are more powerful and thus creating a more productive flowering cycle. The truth is that there is no more efficient LED than the High-Intensity 1W 10mm Diode. The reason being is the input vs. output ratio drops off dramatically the higher wattage LED that is used, and the way you know this to be true is if you test your light with a voltage meter to see the actual power consumption of your light. Our 90W UFO with all 1W Diodes draws between 80-85 watts depending on temperature, where a 90W UFO comprised of all 3W Diodes will draw between 55-60 watts of consumption power. The point is that it sounds good to hear a higher wattage LED being used, but the truth of the matter is that you are actually losing your overall power output by using these inefficient higher-wattage LEDs.
2) The Brand name of the LEDs being used in lights is a popular marketing tool to advertise such brand names as Cree or Bridgelux. The truth is that both Cree and Bridgelux both specialize in producing high Lumen LEDs that are used for commercial lighting like street lighting or commercial buildings. Horticulture lighting is a specialty field and very few manufacturers in the world that produce LEDs that are appropriate for horticultural purposes.
3) LED Lights that are significantly cheaper than other lights should raise a red flag right away. The truth is that to use a precision LED that is an authentic 10mm (High-Intensity) 1W Diode is expensive, and to get around this cost issue, some companies use the 5mm diodes, which are significantly less powerful than the 10mm diodes, thus resulting in a poor performance. There are a number of ways to skimp on the cost of manufacturing a quality LED Grow Light that produces results that are equivalent to HPS lighting, so beware of low-priced LED Lights that sound too good to be true.
4) The number of "Bands of Frequencies" used is of significant importance to photosynthetic activity. There are 3 photosynthetic processes that occur; Chlorophyll A, Chlorophyll B & Carotenoids. To address these processes you would need a minimum of 3 Bands, and to bring the full potential of your plants photosynthetic ability, you will need 2 of these Bands to be duplicated in more than on spectral output. This is why we use 5 Bands in our lights, any more would be redundant and done so with an off-peak frequency. Some companies advertise as much as 10 or 11 Bands, and although this sounds good in theory, in reality it is using the same principles that makes an HPS light only capable of emitting 15% of absorbable light to your plants and this defeats the whole efficiency concept behind the use of LEDs.
5) Lastly, the choice of which company to purchase your LED Grow Light is ultimately up to you, and we try to provide you with as much detailed information as we can to help you make a more informed decision. To better ensure you are getting what you pay for, make sure the company has been in business for several years and they offer a guarantee of performance and stand behind the product they are selling to the public. The best way to really determine if you're buying a quality light is to talk to the company and ask questions. It will become abundantly clear as to whether they know what they're doing or not in very short order.
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