Enlighten me (Grow light advice)

you pay for efficacy -- efficacy = longevity and less heat. it won't change the quality of the outcome. that's simply giving enough DLI. 300w means different DLI depending on the efficacy of the equipment. The FC-3000 from mars has sturdy heatsinks, high efficacy and generally a good price. You can likely find 10-15% off codes on IG or GD. most lights are mostly lm301 diodes with some other types sprinkled in. there are easy ways to tell a high quality light vs a cheap one. The number of diodes and watts powering them is the simplest. if it isn't .20-.25watts/diode, don't expect to get 50,000 hours of use before it dims 90% of original intensity. It will die faster if run hotter (i.e. more watts per diode). Simply go to samsung.com and look up the spec sheet of the lm301 to verify this information. The longevity chart is based on .2 watts per diode, if i recall. Anything above that will hasten the aging process. this also lets you snuff out the liars. the lights claiming a high efficacy ("umol/J"). if they have a watts/diode much different from .2watts/diode, efficacy drops faster and faster. cheap midgrade lights will be around .4w-.5w per diode. These lights are maybe 2.3-2.4umol/J efficacyl high end lights will be 2.8-2.9. you probably can't get over 3.0umol/j. anything over that isa lie/manipulation. e.g. they are using the spec sheet for the 6500K diode which is 3.14 or there abouts. The problem is nobody wants a 6500K light, lol. if any of those exist, it certinaly isn't the majority. "Warmer" lights (lower cct) are less efficient diodes, in general. 3-5% of the diodes will likely be "something else" with a range of efficacys that are lower than the white diodes, so the average only goes down a bit, albiet not much. read up on DLI. understand what light is. avoid bro-science nonsense. people believe all sorts of madness when it comes to lights.