I am still not a fan of Kind. They still use old deceitful advertising. That is NOT a 1000 watt light, it is only 650 watts. This type of advertising is what turned many potental LED growers away from LED. This board has helped change that thinking and has created many companies that have broke the mold, when it comes to true information about LEDs and their true capability.
you cant completely write them off because of this. Well you can, but i wont.
Its the same as car audio. Amps and subs are often names based on max watts, which you would never drive them at all the time or they would blow. RMS is the only important number you need to look at for amps and subs.
Same deal here, look at the wall draw, subtract fans, look at efficiency maybe, if its cob or blurple. I went with platinum because I think its similar enough to kind design but more affordable. Id run the shit out of some kinds, but me personally I am a fan of the cobs I have. Only did one run with em but great results.
heres a repost on my led rant:
companies claims on footprint coverage are rarely accurate (main light coverage), yes take fan wattage out of the power draw and youll have light wattage. Claims of replacing a 400w with 200w, well, idk about that... Claims about less heat- sure, maybe theres less heat watt for watt. But imo, its more that the heat is dissipated differently, there still is a fair amount of heat. That's how energy works, I'm not a scientist, but it makes sense.
That's also my theory on why plants under leds often need more water, the heat is pushed either out the top, or out the sides of the led, either way its staying closer to the plants. Just a rough theory...
As far as warranty, I'm giving companies the benefit of the doubt. Ill rip them apart online if they don't stand behind it (not a threat, I'm just saying...). Word of mouth on these types of things is crucial. The only thing that concerns me is if a company goes out of business. but I'm pretty handy, between me and my bro in law we can fix or repair anything (knock on wood).
They all claim to have cutting edge, newest technology. Well, they cant all have the newest, unless they all have the same.
As far as advanced leds, no idk if they would back their warranty.
I own a platinum led, and I think they would be good about warranty work. they seem like upstanding people, and so does the go green rep on here.
Also, as far as the 50000 hrs rating goes, thats 11years at 12hrs a day. I figure the output will be less than 70% after 5 years (from what I read) which is when id want to replace all the leds.
also, all these parts for leds are made in china, maybe assembled here in the us but ive heard a lot about "drop shipping". Imo there all probably parts from china, most assembled there as well, possibly tested at the company and then sent to you. So, at the end of the day, these are moderately priced for the cob tech they have.