Sanlight is currently the market leader among suppliers of grow LEDs in Germany. In this video we explain why that is and we share our experience with the Sanlight LEDs. Have fun with it! Hi, I’m Sebastian from Grow Guru Team. Grow Guru has been around since 2014. We started almost exactly when LEDs were spreading in the grow sector in Germany. At the very beginning we almost exclusively sold sodium vapor lamps, some plasma lamps, ESLs and some tiny purple glowing UFO LEDs. Today in 2021 the world looks very different. NDL only plays a minor role. Plasma lamps are still being manufactured, but almost never sold any more. The heavy, clunky ESLs have finally disappeared completely , thank goodness . And LED is the non plus ultra of lighting technology. During the triumphant advance of LED technology , the Austrian manufacturer Sanlight did a lot right and invested not only in the development of good products, but also in marketing right from the start . In recent years , Sanlight has become the market leader in German-speaking countries and also plays a role in other European countries.
Sanlight is a company that has real know-how in the field of lighting technology. By specializing in LED grow lights , the company, as far as we know, went in this direction before the large corporations such as Osram and Samsung. While the big corporations have waited, a kind of Wild West scene has developed on the market , because new manufacturers have come onto the market from all directions and have brought out a colorful mix of new products in all conceivable quality levels. These early days also damaged LED technology , because all imaginable products were sold as LED grow lights together with wild promises and many customers were disappointed at the beginning.
That was simply because there was very little know-how along the entire supply chain. Fortunately, things are very different today. Customers, grow shops and manufacturers have experience and Grow LED can be better assessed. Why am I telling you all this? During this time, Sanlight has done real pioneering work and has bravely walked a path. Sanlight has established itself on the market and has not thrown the high quality standards overboard during all this time. I want to say this so clearly because next I want to get rid of some criticisms of the Sanlight GEN2 Q series that are important to us. But we don’t want to badmouth Sanlight because of that. But let’s first talk about the properties of the Sanlight Gen 2 LEDs.
• The Gen 2 Q series is currently available in many variants. I am not listing all of them. They are available in different lengths with up to 6 modules. The heat sink is always shaped the same and the modules are always the same. • The system efficiency is 2.7 µmol / J • The LEDs can be operated individually or connected in series. • Sanlight uses Osram LED chips. • Sanlight gives a 3 year guarantee on the LEDs, which is remarkable. Now we come to the advantages of the Sanlight Gen 2 LEDs. • On the one hand, it impresses with its high quality. The Sanlight fittings are of very high quality. We must have sold a few thousand fittings and so far only very few defects. And if something happens then the service from the manufacturer is very good. • It also has good system efficiency At 2.7 µmol / J, Sanlight was at the top in early 2020 when the Gen2 came out.
We are currently already seeing fittings with a system efficiency of over 3. For comparison: NDL is 1.6. This means that the most modern LEDs that are available today are now twice as efficient as HPS. • The next plus point is the long service life. With 90% light output after 80,000 operating hours, Sanlight is at the top here. • Another point is the color spectrum. Of course it is a full spectrum LED, nothing else has been on the market for a long time. The Sanlight spectrum is a bit red-heavy, which is preferred by many growers. • Last but not least, the advantage of daisychaining gives you the option of connecting several lights in series and avoiding a bit of tangled cables . Now to our criticisms. • First point of criticism: the price LEDs consist of a certain composition of chips, a heat sink and a control device.
This is a manageable number of components and we therefore consider it permissible to compare the prices of the Sanlight LEDs with other similarly equipped fittings. Measured in EUR / W, the price of Sanlight is approx. 20-30% above LEDs with roughly comparable features , such as the hydroca Pro LED. • Another disadvantage: No accessories. All components required for use must be purchased separately. The faucet itself does n’t even come with a power cord. Many customers know this or read the item description carefully, but not all of them and that regularly leads to frustration. Why Sanlight doesn’t buy a cable for this price is a bit strange. • Next point: No standard connector We don’t understand why Sanlight decided to use very special connectors . In my household I have a television, a printer, a Fritzbox, a sewing machine and a lot of other devices and they all use the same power cables. But I couldn’t use a Sanlight LED with it, so I have to buy a power cable for a proud EUR 19.90. • Also a disadvantage in our eyes: the dimmer The new Gen 2 fittings are dimmable.
But the dimmer itself is a mystery for us as a shop. Sanlight has come up with a piece of technology that is pretty much user- unfriendly and has to be bought extra at a price of 29.90 EUR. That’s a lot of money. We don’t understand why Sanlight, like all other manufacturers, cannot simply build a normal rotary knob on their fittings. Anyone can use this and this component is a dime item. • Let’s take a look at: The design LED technology offers the possibility of building lights in all conceivable shapes. Most growers have a square footprint that they would like to illuminate with artificial light. Then why does Sanlight build a rectangular LED? • Last but not least, promises have not been kept: Sanlight has given us shops and customers with the Q series two promises: 1. The modules of the Q series should be available for purchase from Gen 1 and it should be possible, modules change yourself and equip the fitting with newer LED technology.
2. The new Gen 2 series should be able to be boosted in order to get additional power out of the LED. Sanlight has not kept both promises to this day, and we find that a bit questionable, especially because Sanlight is still actively advertising with these promises and we as a shop naturally pass these promises on to customers. We are also in direct contact with Sanlight and have repeatedly mentioned these points, but nothing has happened to this day.
As you can see, a lot came together. Hence the long intro at the beginning. We don’t like to badmouth Sanlight , but we as a shop have to give our customers neutral advice and we see that at the moment it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Sanlight if you are just looking for a great grow LED. But the market for LEDs is changing rapidly. Let’s see how the story goes on. What do you think of the Sanlight? Is the Sanlight worth the money? Do you think the Sanlight is the non plus ultra or do you find our criticism justified? Let us know in the comments. We look forward to your opinion. I hope to have given you some interesting information about the advantages and disadvantages of Sanlight LED in this video .
As always, if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time. If you liked the video and don’t want to miss any useful tips and information about the products we are behind in the future, please like this video and leave us a subscription. Until then, stay healthy! Your Sebastian from the Grow Guru Team..
