It started, as most of these things do, with a spreadsheet. In Q2 2024, I was tasked with reviewing our facility’s supplemental lighting for our interior plant staging area. We’ve got about 1,200 square feet that needs consistent, low-heat lighting for a mix of tropicals and succulents. The old T5 fixtures were drawing too much power, and the bulb replacement cycle was an annual headache.
I’d seen the buzz around the Feit Electric 2’ LED grow lights. A lot of people were talking about them for home grows and small-scale setups. My job, though, is about scale and repeatability. I manage a supply budget for a 50-person landscaping company—about $180,000 annually across everything from mower blades to specialized lighting. I can’t just buy one light and call it a day. I need data that predicts performance across 40+ fixtures over three years.
The Setup: Why Total Cost (Not One Light) Matters
I ordered ten units of the Feit Electric 2’ grow light (model you see everywhere). My test bench was a 4x4 tent in our warehouse. I tracked three things: initial lux output, power draw at the wall (not the claimed LED wattage), and thermal profile over a 12-hour cycle.
My first concern was the power supply. This lamp uses an external driver, which is fine, but it’s a point of failure. If that driver dies in a year, the total cost of ownership (TCO) on the fixture jumps. You can’t just throw the bulb away and buy a new one. You’re either buying a replacement driver or a new fixture. That’s a hidden cost not in the initial quote.
Here’s the thing: the light output is decent for the price. For a grow light, you’re looking for a good PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) map. The Feit unit has a decent spread, but it’s not a replacement for a high-end bar light for a serious commercial grow. It’s perfect for what we needed: keeping plants healthy and looking good for display.
I should add that the claim about 'full spectrum' is a bit optimistic. It’s a white light with a boost in the red and blue regions. It’ll grow most houseplants, but if you’re trying to get a cannabis plant to full flower density, you’d want a dedicated quantum board. For our succulents? It was more than enough.
The Problem: The 'Free' Setup Cost Us $450
Here’s where the real story starts. We decided to install a test batch of 20 fixtures across our main staging area. The install seemed simple—plug and play, right? Not exactly.
The fixtures come with a 6-foot power cord and daisy-chain capability. The daisy-chain is great, but we had to buy additional link cables and mounting brackets because the included ones weren’t long enough for our spacing. That was $150 we didn’t budget for.
Then, the heat. The driver gets hot. Not dangerously hot, but hot enough that we had to mount it on a separate aluminum plate for thermal management, because hanging it directly above the plants would cause leaf tip burn on our ferns. That was another $300 in custom mounting.
So, the $89 fixture was now costing us about $114 each after installation. That 'free' setup in my original estimate? It cost us $450 in total for the batch. I knew I should have done a full test install before ordering 20, but I thought 'what are the odds?' Well, the odds caught up with me.
The Turning Point: A 3-Month Verdict
Three months in, here’s the verdict. The lights themselves? They work. The diodes are still bright. We haven’t had a driver failure. The plants are happy—our Calatheas are putting out new leaves which is usually a sign of good light. The power draw is half of what the old T5s were pulling. That’s saving us about $200 a month in electricity.
But the hidden costs are real. The mounts, the thermal management, the link cables. If I were doing this again for a larger scale, I would buy a bulk kit from Feit that includes the wiring and brackets. Or I’d use a different fixture for the mounting locations.
Would I recommend the Feit Electric 2’ LED grow light? For a home user with a single shelf? Yes. For a contractor doing a 40-light install? Maybe not. The installation complexity eats into the savings.
The TCO Reality Check
Let’s do the math. We have 20 lights now. The total TCO over 3 years (assuming one driver failure and a bulb replacement for a couple of units) is:
- Initial fixture cost: $1,780 (20 x $89)
- Installation overruns: $450
- Expected driver replacement (2 units): ~$80
- Total TCO: ~$2,310
- vs. TCO of old T5 system (power + bulbs): ~$4,800 over the same period
Net savings: about $2,500 over three years. That’s a 17% savings on our lighting budget. Not bad. But the lesson is: don’t stop at the fixture price. The install is where the real cost hides.
"I knew I should get written confirmation on the deadlines before ordering in bulk. But we'd worked with the supplier for years. I trusted the verbal agreements. That was the one time the lead time slipped, and it cost us a rush fee on a few fixtures for an urgent plant display."
Oh, and one more thing: the dmx spotlight compatibility. I keep seeing people ask if you can chain multiple of these lights to a DMX controller for a show. Don’t even try. This isn’t a DMX spotlight. It’s a simple on/off fixture. If you want DMX, buy a proper DMX luminaire. Save yourself the headache.
Also, I get a lot of questions about the tub chandelier and whether you can retro-fit these lights into one. Don’t. The driver needs airflow. The heat will cook it. Stick to the intended use case.
And about the fcob led strip trend? The Feit unit uses standard SMD LEDs, not the newer FCOB chips. The FCOB strip has better uniformity and no visible dots at close range. The Feit is fine for a shelf, but if you’re doing a photography light or a close-up grow, you’ll notice the individual diode spots.
The bottom line: The Feit Electric 2’ grow light is a workhorse for the money. I’d buy it again for the right job. But I’ve learned to budget for the mounts and the link cables. That’s the TCO lesson that cost me $450 to learn.