California Lightworks SolarSystem Controller

CA Lightworks 550s - Top notch

Grow Lights Depot personnel patiently answered all my questions and offered useful suggestions. Very pleased with customer service, the 3 California Lightworks 550 lights, and the controller - no bugs. They made a conspicuous difference in my plant's leaf size (smaller), internode length (shorter) and leaf morphology (thicker/ sturdier leaves with a thicker cuticle, thus more photo-receptors). Lights are being used to over-winter tropical and sub-tropical bonsai. I an using a 1:3:5 ratio (R:W:B) and have gradually increased light to 16% red, 48% white, 80% blue. These lights were recommended to me by a friend with a PhD in physics and I highly recommend them as well.

It is buggy.

So, at first I thought I had a defective Solar System controller. No, it's working as it was designed. It uses military time and gets confused if you enter a higher number as the "on time" vs the "off time" in the advanced menu. So, I needed off at 1 pm (12:00), on at 4pm (16:00.) You'd think this would be a non issue. While it works, this doesn't work for the advanced menu. The advanced menu also "gets confused" if you enter a normal time like 05:00 as on time and say 18:00 off time when you enable any sunrise / sunset time. I emailed California Lightworks and their response was, "The controller has a hard time understanding the start time being a higher number than the off time. To fix this you will add 12 hours to your local time then invert the on and off time. Thanks for asking!" Sorry man, this controller is $200, the light was like $1400. After spending this kind of $$$ you'd think something very basic like clock timer functions would be perfect. THEY ARE NOT. The controller is obviously outsourced to an Asian country, but the light itself is made in the USA. So, just use the controller without using advanced functions and it will work as designed. Pretty disappointed TBH. Do better California Lightworks. Imagine buying 30 Solar system 1100's and the controller behaves like this. I'd be livid and I only purchased one. The light itself functions well. but it all boils down to how well the controller functions. One star all the way (for the controller.)

Clw ss1100 and controller

I received my california light works ss1100s and controller a couple of months ago and am quite impressed, my 2 lights hang in a 4x4 tent that is 1600 true watts with no heat issues, the spectral control allows for perfect early spring blue sunlight vegging and late fall red for flowering with any option in between including programmed daily and weekly or even monthly spectrum changes you can create spectral changes in programs that will change from seedling to veg to flowering over a whole grow.These lights are water proof and the controller and its green light(safe for dark periods any way] is mounted outside the tent so i can check on it if so inclined though it doesn't really need me, this set up is awesome and definitely allows me to leave for a few days and the controller takes care of all light functions including increases or decreases in intensity. If you have pets or need to leave for awhile these lights are safe, water proof ul approved anerican made and QC' ed oh yeah the are super powerful and intense so special glasses are require sooooo much light.