Performance ClaimsSince BML makes such a big deal about the proper comparative metrics,
we’ll start there.- Rule 1: they state “since light (not
electricity) grows plants, you need to ask how much light a fixture
emits.” (They mean a PPF value) “It sounds simple, but 99.9% of the
horticultural Lighting companies do not advertise this metric.”
Apparently they are part of that 99.9% since I could not find this value
in their specifications or literature for their fixtures; apparently
you have to ask for it.
- Rule 2: We absolutely agree, do not use Lumens.
- Rule
3: They speak about the myth of not using green light and that plants
have multiple pigments and photoreceptors across the PAR spectral range
as well as the spectrum importance on plant morphology. But, the main 2
spectrums (Grow-Max and Start-Max) they promote are hardly broad
spectrum and the 2 broader spectrums (View-Max and Solar-Max) are
specified for specialized applications. It would appear that by example
they too follow this same narrow spectrum dogma.
- Rule 4: We would
agree, it is inappropriate to use a single PPFD value as a metric for a
lighting fixture. It is curious that despite the use of their PPFD maps
they still felt compelled to publish a maximum value at center only 12”
below the fixture.
- Rule 5: Yes do not be distracted by the individual
LED wattage ratings, especially since most are driven at about 70% or
of that value.
The main
performance claim they make is that their Spyder 600 can provide the
same PPFD levels as a 1000W HPS and Metal Halide fixtures in many
greenhouse applications. In the same paragraph they claim it delivers
the same light level as a 600W HPS. We are not quite sure what they are
suggesting, but we’ll focus on the 1000W HPS. While they do not show a
PPF specification we were able to extract a PPF value from the LED
Fixture Comparison on the product specification, approximately 540
uMol/S. So once again we will use a PPF of 1300 uMol/S for our 1000W
HPS. The average PPFD is simply the PPF spread over a given area, so
using the PPF value for this evaluation is appropriate. The argument
they are making here is that the HPS is so sloppy in the delivery of light to the actual
grow area that nearly 60% of the emitted light is lost through the
reflector and spray over. We find this to be highly unlikely, even in a
poor set up.
Additionally on the LED Fixture
Comparison they summaries that they had the highest PAR/Dollar and most
energy efficient LED Fixture, but the comparison shows the LSG Purple
beating them on both accounts.
Spyder 600 Product ComparrisonOnce
again we find ourselves a bit dizzy after twisting around their site,
being distracted by what an LED grow light should be and how to properly
evaluate it only to conclude they are not really even following their
own guidelines. We find it interesting that even the LED grow light
manufacturers who produce some of the better fixtures still find it
necessary to exaggerate, distract, and maybe even deceive. So what is it
that they are trying to hide?
Back