Sunshine Systems LED problems?

[naoki]

Did anyone deal with Sunshine systems customer service recently? They don't respond any more. Are they going out of business or something?

I was pretty happy with their LED GrowPanel 45, but it broke after 8 months of use. About half of the LEDs are gone now. Two months ago, they said they would initiate RMA process, but since then, they don't reply to my email any more. I noticed that there are bunch of customers complaining about their customer support in Amazon review now...

I thought that they are reputable company, so I went with their products even though they are more expensive than others. I've recommended this product in this forum, but with this kind of customer support, I probably shouldn't have.

[DavidCampen]

I see that they make this statement:
"the GlowPanel 45® uses just 28 watts of power and surpasses the output of a 250 Watt HPS"
That statement is blatantly untrue so either they are knowingly lying or the are completely ignorant about LED grow lights. So I would say that they seem to be just another fly by night company selling cheap Chinese made junk for a premium price.

[naoki]

Yes, I don't know how these people come up with "equivalency" to HPS. I've never used HPS, but this LED covers 2x2' area (when it's working), and they are great for low light plants. Phals and Paphs grow better than expected under it. From plant growth perspective, it seems to be similar to 2 bulb 32W T8 or 1 bulb 54W T5HO. I have access to an equipment to measure photosynthetic rate to compare different light source, but I haven't had time to do so, so this is just a guess. If it had lasted for 5 years, it would have been a winner.

I will probably try those cheap ebay LED grow panels (14W) to see how long they last. Any experience with these?