"spectral bands you think are so important are useless to plants."
THAT IS FALSE INFORMATION YOU ARE SPREADING, ALL wavelengths are important to plant growth, go back and don't just read what a website tells you, do your OWN research, Even Green, YES GREEN is an important spectrum for the plant. This is why the LED revolution is having a hard time overthrowing HID, the info and the science is just not being quoted accurately, this is like watching FOX News.
"There are many lights, comparable in quality, for better deals."
- You have YET to show me one example of a brand that is better in quality and design than GROWL, I shot down your Height comparison pretty easily, what else ya got?
".5) You need 5 different leds to get plant growth equal to a standard metal halide/HPS light. As well a standard red and blue (640 Nm and 460 Nm) you need 660 Nm red to promote flowering, 430 Nm blue for the hard resinous buds (without it you get 'fluffy' buds with no weight) and warm white which provides far red out to about 800 Nm, again for flowering.
Notice no orange, etc."
- THAT "INFORMATION" IS OUTDATED AND INCOMPLETE. For real? Your scientific "research" is cutting and pasting from a DIY site from the UK, REALLY?
"...watts just measures how much power is consumed NOT how much light is produced..."
- You have yet to mention PAR, go ahead, I'll wait while you look it up.... Yeah, thats what you measure for plant response to light. 5 @1W LEDs will give off more PAR, LUMENS, whatever measurable unit you want, than a 5W LED, this has nothing to do w/ growing, this is just the science of an LED, not growers opinions. What you want for more canopy penetration is not a "BIGGER WATT LED", you would want 1W with different degree focused lenses.
The fact is, GROWL makes the top quality and best results lights. I'm not trying to argue with other LED users out there, we need to make this take over HID so in-fighting does no one any good. Go to the GROWL facebook page and see the results, what other site has Cannabis results posted in picture and video?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/GrowL-LED-Inc/222963509269?v=photos
I just know what I speak because I have been using LED and been on this site for 1 1/2 years and you sound like you haven't been around these parts all that long based on how you respond, you kinda come off like a PT Phish kid. Don't get me wrong, if we were ever at a show, I'd buy ya a beer (we are both LED growers) But to each his own, you have fun "saving money" and in about a year when your shit breaks and you can't seem to figure out who to talk to for customer service and repair and you have to shell out more money for a new panel, don't say I didn't warn you. You get what you pay for, you'll remember that in about a year.