All of your input was fantastic, but I just ordered a 400 watt HPS
I really wanted to get into the LEDs but like others, I'm a bit nervous about switching from what I know. It also seems like getting a good LED is a lot of money compared to upgrading to the next size up on an HID. Maybe the next time I buy new equipment I'll go with the LEDs once I know more about them, as of right now it seems like a foreign language.
We are making strong progress in translating the performance of LED arrays into an easy to understand format for any layman to observe. It seems like a foreign language, because concentrating a given area with a uniform saturation of light (
Photometric Uniformity i.e. '
PPFD') is a relatively complex task, and attaining a true understanding for what type of light to saturate that area with (
Spectrometry) complicates it even further.
LEDs won't seem so complicated for long, but remember, this industry is used to depending on the radiation from a singular bulb to cover a large area. That is a much more simple type of lighting system than the complex LED arrays coming out in an attempt to succeed these outdated technologies. However, new processes are being developed to measure the concentration of light in a given area, and the results from these new experiments begin to highlight the drastic difference between a single high-powered 15" x 3" sized bulb's performance versus a 42" x 42" array like our elite, with 21 separate light sources (8 Samsung Strips + 13 COBs) arranged in equidistance.
By graphing one of the metrics produced by our proprietary algorithm,
|Deducted Proportional Intensity|, we are able to produce the following illustration to showcase the difference in photometric uniformity between our 842W Elite and 1000W HPS. With our 842W Elite VS. 1000W HPS both @ 22" mounting distance, our Elite held an improved
Averaged Proportional Intensity Variance (
APIv) of an astounding
486.27%. Ideally, the Elite would be mounted 18" or lower, so we ran the same experiment with our array at 18". We found that our uniformity was still better, but decreased to an improved
APIv of
160.41%. Due to a more uniform saturation of light, it is safer to place our fixtures closer than you would a 1000W HPS, so running a test at 18" is fair, and uniformity is still far improved. The graph below is of the experiment with both fixtures at an equal mounting distance, tested in the same stable conditions using the same measurement instrument (
MQ-500: Full-Spectrum Quantum Meter).
We understand this is complicated, but it is possible (and really, inevitable) that the differences between these differing technologies will become easier to understand as time and development go on. This industry is still young, and a critical sector of this industry (
Lighting) is still deep in the developmental stage.
While companies develop products that can be sold at price points the community is willing to pay, I second all recommendations for a DIY COB build. The primary source of light output for all our arrays is from COBs, and I believe that is why our testers have enjoyed so much success in testing our products. I don't think you can go wrong with a properly assembled DIY COB array.
