Gavita LED 1700e

Gavita is one of the top horticultural lighting brands in the world. The company produces some of the highest quality and most powerful grow lights for professional indoor gardeners.

Gavita LED devices are relatively new on the market, but they’re very popular in the indoor gardening community.

The newest Gavita 1700e LED is a top-rated grow light. Yet, ratings alone aren’t very reliable. To assess the quality of a grow light, we must analyze its performance.

In this Gavita LED review article, we will examine the quality of the device in detail to decide if this expensive grow light is worth your money or was worth ours.

Gavita LED Design Review

Before we review the performance of Gavita LED, let’s look at its design and structure.

The Gavita 1700e LED arrives in a package that also contains hanging equipment, an installation manual, and a power cord.

The power cord is around 8ft (2.4m) long and you can select its voltage while purchasing the device.

You can also order an LED controller and adapter with the device if you want more controllability over your grow light.

The Fixture

The Gavita LED fixture is made of 8 separate LED bars that are covered with aluminum heat sinks at their top and are fixed to the main frame. This creates a unique open-frame design that allows even coverage of light and strong heat dissipation.

The diodes are made by Samsung and Osram, two of the lighting industry leaders. They are protected with plastic coverings and their Phillips drivers are located at the center of the frame.

The dimensions of the fixture are 44.1 x 43.7 x 2.3 inches (112 x 110 x 5.8 cm) and its weight is around 28.4 pounds (12.88 kg).

All you need to do to set up the device is to fix the four hangers in their mounting holes, then connect the power cord to the fixture and plug it in.

We can say confidently that the innovative design of this fixture is one of the best. The distribution of the LED bars is very effective in preventing heat damage and unequal distribution of light.

It’s important to note that the Gavita LED 1700e has a three-year warranty and can also be used in wet environments.

Gavita LED Performance Review

Power Consumption and Efficiency

Gavita 1700e LED consumes around 645 watts of power at full intensity. This value tells us that the electric consumption of the light is relatively high. But it indicates nothing about the quality of the device unless used to measure the efficiency.

The PAR efficacy of Gavita 1700e LED is around 2.6 μmol/J. This means for every watt of power, the light produces 2.6 μmol of PAR per second.

That value is really the highest rate of efficiency that grow lights can reach today.

According to Gavita, the 1700e grow LED light is equivalent to an HPS lamp that consumes 1000 watts of power, and this is another indicator of how efficient the light is.

Another amazing feature about this light is that can be dimmed down to half its intensity without losing efficiency. This is particularly great when you’re growing your plants in the vegetative stage.

Light Intensity and Quality

The Samsung diodes of Gavita 1700e LED produce a full-spectrum white light that includes the entire PAR range thereby covering the different light demands of plants during different stages in their life cycle.

The Osram diodes produce supplemental deep red light that enhance the PAR for the flowering phase of the plants.

Gavita’s PAR output  is around 1700 μmol/s, hence the name 1700e. This number is very high compared to most other grow lights.

To assess the grow light’s performance with plants, we must look at and interpret its PPFD at different distances. Here are our PPFD measurements of Gavita 1700e LED at 18 and 24 inches in a grow tent.

These values prove how powerful the light is. This device was developed to produce the highest yield in the most light-demanding plants.

The PPFD values of Gavita also display another feature of the grow light, uniformity.

There is a small difference between Gavita’s PPFD values at the center and the ones at the edges and in the corner. This discrepancy is usually much higher with other grow lights.

The uniformity of the light produced by Gavita LED allows you to get equal results in your plants even if they were located at different positions under your grow light.

There are zero negative comments that can be stated about this light’s performance.

Coverage Area and Hanging Height

The coverage area recommended by the manufacturer for the flowering phase of plants is 4ft x 4ft (1.2m x 1.2m) to 5ft x 5ft (1.5 m x 1.5 m) at a hanging height of 18 inches (45 cm).

The recommended area for the plants’ vegetative phase is 6ft x 6ft (1.8m x 1.8m) to 7ft x 7ft (2.1m x 2.1m) at a hanging height of 36 to 48 inches (90 to 120 cm).

If you plan on dimming the light during the vegetative phase of your plants, stick with the 4ft x 4ft (1.2m x 1.2m) coverage area and 18 inches hanging height.

You’re advised to use a grow tent with reflective walls to grow your plants so you maximize the intensity of your grow light.

Heat Dissipation

Heat is an important factor to think of when purchasing a grow light. If the fixture produces too much heat, it will damage itself and your plants.

Luckily, Gavita 1700e LED is equipped with a powerful passive heat dissipation system that depends on the aluminum and the open frame design.

The aluminum is a very strong thermal conductor, so it absorbs all the heat produced by the diodes. Because of this, the metal will get hot, especially at the center, so don’t touch it with your hands while the light is on.

There are some advantages of the aluminum heat sink over cooling fans. The aluminum requires no electricity to operate and produces zero noise.

Conclusion

Gavita LED is one of the most powerful grow lights on the market. It’s bright, efficient, and durable. The device has no drawbacks that are worth noting.

Yet, we only recommend this light for professional growers. It’s high-priced and for this reason, hobby growers may find grow lights, such Hortimol Mled MH320A, more suitable for them.

However, Gavita LED is a wise choice for experienced gardeners who are planning on expanding their indoor gardens.

Enjoy growing your plants indoors and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below!

source and credit : https://herbswithin.com