Bridgelux Vs. Cree LED

I was curious between these two type LED. What are the pro and cons? In the end, which is better?

Thanks.

 

Bridgelux are like 80% as efficient. cree as Luxeon ES are the best.

 

Why is Cree the best?

 

More efficient, better phosphors ( I think they're called that), better output, and in some cases better spectrum. ES blue leds are even better than crees.

 

When it comes to blues and whites, crees are the best around. Bridgelux diodes have much better spectrums available, like violets, deep reds, cyans, etc. but are less efficient, usually about 30% less efficient. They also have lower current and voltage than Crees, but are much cheaper, making them the more affordable option in most cases. The best type of fixture would be a hybrid, royal blue and cool white crees, and violet, red, green, and cyan bridgelux diode.

 

Do you have a reference for that, with regards to PAR (i.e. not lux or lumens.)?

 

lumens are used to directly compare diodes, specifically lumens/watt. The above statement of bridgelux diodes being 80% less efficient is simply not true, unless the diodes are of very low quality, the efficiency will be lower more typically by about 30%.

 

That simply isn't accurate. Lumens can really only be accurately used to compare diodes, for our purposes, if the output is exactly the same spectral curve. End of story. Also, saying two diodes are, for example, 450nm, does not mean they both have the same spectral response. The margin of error for guesstimating reef lighting efficiency (PAR), based on comparisons of lumens can be easily off by tens or even hundreds of percent. I've watched for years as the boards are full of comparisons based on lumens, with people apparently never stopping to consider for one minute what a lumens and par actually measure and how. You also can't compare leds, very accurately unless the lenses are identical (if you are comparing two brands, the lenses will be significantly different). Slight differences in lenses, can also change the output by tens or hundreds of percentages.

So, it's a question people try to answer and pretend they can, but I still haven't seen anyone do so properly or accurately. CREEs and bridglux are both fine lenses and based on the realities of LED technology, it's unlikely there would be more than 10% or so difference in total output per watt. They are both can work fine LEDs, although CREE has a longer history in the hobby.

 

Thank you for the insight everyone.

Thank you m2434. So are you saying, as far as the PAR concern, they are both equal?

 

No, not really. The differences will be relatively small though, if all things, lenses, spectral output etc.. were the same. In reality these things won't be the same, so, it is tough to make an accurate comparison. However, people have great success with both, and I wouldn't hesitate to go with either (actually, I have tanks with both, so, I haven't LOL and I'm happy with both). As mentioned though CREE does have a longer history in the hobby, so, their properties are a bit more familiar to most.