This was quoted to me from an LED rep;
.90w LED = 150-175w Metal Halide
120w LED = 250-300w Metal Halide
300w LED = 500-700w Metal Halide
What are the benefits of LED light fixtures?
Powerful LED Aquarium Light fixtures can replace Metal Halide Lamps and save you 50% or more on electricity bills.
LEDs have a lifespan of 50,000 hours with nearly no maintenance
You don’t need to replace the bulbs frequently like as you do with MH/Fluorescent.
No need for ballast as MH and fluorescent
LEDs are cool lighting that produces much less heat. LEDs are mounted onto a full sized heat sink with ½†fins , you don’t need to buy additional expensive cooling system.
LEDs light downwards directly with 120 degree wide beam angle allows uniform
coverage. There is no need to buy additional bulky reflectors like MH.
ECO-friendly: No mercury or any other harmful heavy metal or gases.
The system isn't quite as complicated as it seems. So having a big 1000 watt M/H light system with the t5/pc actinic supplements is still only 250 watts or 400 watts of light to any particular area. 120 watt unit pits out more light than a 250 halide plus has actinic bulbs built in and costs less than a t5 bulb to operate. They run virtually no heat and have no ballasts to catch on fire or replace.
At 8 hrs per day and .25/kw your 48" fixture costs your spending over 500 a year on that single fixture not counting the cost of bulbs. Some people spend .43/kw depending on household usage. And that's not counting supplemental actinic lighting or if you run a chiller then it all about doubles in usage. LED lighting saves you money on energy cost and lowers the cost of ownership. No more changing light bulbs. Unlike conventional aquarium lighting, LED lighting will give you consistent spectrum of light rather having it arc over time which reduces the amount of beneficial light your corals receive. LED lighting has been the next big thing for the reef hobby for quite some time. Initially everyone was hesitant to try it due to the lack of usage and information from people that have used LED lighting, successfully. That was not the only problem. As with any new technology, cost is quite high due to lower demand and higher cost of manufacturing. Now that more and more hobbyist are looking into LED lighting, mainly to lower their operating cost and some to help mother nature, but still, the cost of LED lighting, at least the Quality LED fixtures are still quite high and out of reach for most hobbyists.
Hope you got something out of all this
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