First of all I want say sorry If this has already been discussed somewhere on this Forum. One of my friend is considering growing with LED lights instead of HID or flouro's. Regrettably, I am not savvy with LED lights, so I could most definitively use some experienced info. He is planning to get an full spectrum LED light for 60 sq. ft. room with the recommended 3k lumens per sq. ft. coverage plan. I did some look around for him but still what could be more valuable than shared Experiences and so here I am. Lend me your expertise to make the right decision !
1st off - full spectrum is a mistake. The only advantage LED has over HID is due to the fact that you can manipulate the spectrum. If he's set on full spectrum then a LED fixture has absolutely no benefit over HID and thus a HID light should be purchased. Generally: HID is better bang for buck (even when you take into account the energy costs). You'd typically only want to go with LED where you have concerns with available power or your ability to control heat. Or if you've drunk too much of the marketing koolaid.
From what I've read, LEDs do not penetrate the foliage enough. HID is the way to go for full light penetration. Once LEDs solve that problem, I'm in!
There is no mysterious "Foliage penetrating" properties. It all just boils down to the amount of light produced. The problem is false/misleading advertising. For example: A 200W LED light is often marketed as being the equivalent of a 400W HID. In reality it's really only a 120W light in the 1st place and is more equivalent to a 150W HID but people are expecting it to perform/penetrate like a 400W HID because that's what it was sold to them as.
Check out my 135W LED grow in my sig. Buds are frostier than mayweathers neck. Harvesting later today (10/26)
I switched out my 1000 watt HPS lamp with optic lighting's 420 watt Force LED Grow Light http://opticgrowlights.com and have seen great results. I do not have a lot of room to grow so heat was the main reason for my switching. I would recommend just buying one though to see how you and your grow space respond. They do come with a 90 day money back guarantee ( They only allow one return per customer though) so keep that in mind.