Reading this thread has been extremely tedious and to be honest I skipped a good deal of it. Typical forum fodder...

I've been researching this quite a bit. Seems that LED tech is still being proven depending on who posts but HID is a known quantity that delivers consistent results.

Furthermore, experienced naysayers demand even greater performance than HID before they'll accept LED's.

For myself the heat/fire-risk issue from HID is a deterrent and LED lights would solve my awkward attempts at using CFL's effectively.

My conclusion is that higher wattage panel such as 300+ should work adequately for veg and flower?