LTC Cool Diamond II LED Grow Light Review

LED Growing has changed a lot in recent years. Just five to ten years ago, it was nearly impossible to find the quality of LED needed to produce the excellent results that they now are able to easily achieve. One of the latest and greatest on the market today is the LTC Cool Diamond II LED Grow Light. Although it’s often seen as an expensive investment, it’s well worth it to those who have the budget. Let’s take a closer look to see exactly what it has to offer growers and hobbyists.

Features

• Has an incredibly large footprint of 72 x 48 inches. This offers both the proper area for vegging and flowering.
• Built with 128 high-end (Luxeon Brand) and super powerful LED bulbs which last an extremely long time.
• Emits 29,329 total lumens at it’s brightest output. Although the term lumens isn’t useful for plant growth, it does give consumers a good idea how bright it will be.
• 6 foot power cord.
• Designed to replace a 1000 watt HPS system.
• Rated lifetime of 70,000 to 100,000 total hours of operation.
• Color Temp / CRI 5500 /75 K/CRI LED
• Backed by an impressive five year warranty.
• Uses around 300 watts of energy while plugged into the wall with a 110-240 volt input current.
• The unit/panel itself measures 17.5 inches wide, 37 inches long, and 5 inches in height (thickness).

What We Liked

• Saves energy over your standard indoor lighting technology such as HPS or MH.
• Massive footprint. Probably the largest we’ve seen yet from a single LED panel.
• The 6 foot power cord is included. No need to find one on your own.
• The 5 year warranty is very generous since electronics aren’t always predictable. If you have any issues with this LED panel, contact the manufacturer and they will be able to assist you if you purchased it within the last 5 years. (Keep your receipt)
• Some led grow lights don’t come with the power cord, this one does.
• Operates at a very cool temperature, thus boosting efficiency and providing no heat-issues in small spaces. No additional cooling such as ducting is required.
• Doesn’t emit any UV or IR radiation – safer for the gardener.
• Energy costs decreased drastically when this replaced a metal halide system.

What We Didn’t Like

• We had a tough time finding any relevant statistics such as the panel’s PAR output or complete spectrum. These are important notes that are crucial to selecting the right LED grow light.
• The price is very expensive which eliminates it as a candidate for some consumers.
• Weighs 23 lbs. Make sure your growing environment can handle that weight!

Final Thoughts

Although it’s quite expensive, many are choosing the LTC Cool Diamond II LED Grow Light Indoor Fixture over many other inexpensive brands with they key thought that, “you pay for what you get.” While this may be true, $2400 for a grow light is quite a step up considering the grow light expense is just part of the equipment needed to grow luscious plants and full flowers indoors. The footprint is extremely large, but some would like to have the ability to “spread the light” with a few different panels instead of one massive panel. What it really comes down to is your goals and expectations.

We’ve heard the term ‘lumens’ being throw around before, but honestly, it’s a quite irrelevant statistic since every plant on the surface of this world doesn’t use light based on how many lumens it is. Plants see what we know as “PAR” or Photosynthetic Active Radiation. However, we must say that the LTC Cool Diamond II LED Grow Light should provide enough light to make your grow thrive without the effort of high pressure sodium or metal halide lighting systems.

If you need any further assistance on selecting which LED grow light is the best, be sure to check out our other reviews or drop us a comment in the field below. Enjoy and happy gardening!