Yes, Great, Good, but which LED light should we buy , Damn it man get to the point!??!?! All that babble and not one suggestion. jeezus
I'll play along...There is no generic design or templet for LED's like there is for HID's such as hood size/coverage. HID's are pretty much all the same...yes they look a little different, but the hoods are all designed for 4x4 spaces and one bulb(yes a few have dual bulbs). This makes HID's very easy to compare with each other. But led's are all different shapes, sizes, and qualities. Companies are just getting to the point of good 4x4 replacement units.
So for led's it depends on your space, grow style, and budget.
Here is how I look at LED's in order of importance.
1) What is the par output in umol's (most companies don't give one on their website and that just pisses me off)...minimum 700umols@12" is the lowest end of my attention radar. 1000hps's puts out 1800umol@24" so that is my real goal.
2) Wattage to achieve output. (first total unit draw, then diode wattage and brand)
3) Coverage size and umol dispersion over the area (only strong in center or is it spread out)
4) Spectrum/wavelengths
5) Price
6) BS advertising/company image/knock offs on the market. (maybe they are the knock offs?)
Just the ways I personally judge all of them.
Apache Tech
Area 51
California light works
Lumigro
Illumitex
Those are good reliable units that will work how they say...or close to/could happen. There are a few more that come to mind but I don't trust or don't know enough about to support.