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Old 04-13-2010, 06:58 PM
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sphelps sphelps is offline
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While LEDs are looking more promising these days my main issue with them is the complexity and reliability. Not too much information out there regarding long term experience and performance. The only fixture that had been out for a while was the solarus but everyone I've heard of using one has had some kind of issue with them relating to either the drivers or LED arrays. In both cases servicing them isn't exactly easy. Other fixtures may be better but their popularity and presence isn't high enough to provide much experience. They also only come with a 1 year warranty which is complete garbage for a fixture that is suppose to last 10 years. Others may disagree but as an engineer in a manufacturing company I know exactly how warranty life is determined and limiting warranty to one year for a such a product is pretty big red flag.

I prefer to spend money on a quality fixture that not only looks good but works all the time. I can't justify spending more up front for a fixture that doesn't look as good, may require constant attention and maintenance and might not even last as long as suggested. Despite the potential energy savings the chance of spending less in the end isn't exactly that good which defeats the purpose IMO.

For now I think the LEDs belong to the DIY electronic guys who can easily fix there own work or build it better with quality parts and those with nano and smaller tanks where the upfront cost is less.
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