Claimed vs Measured: Panel Irradiance Under a Spectrometer

Updated August 2026 · every figure below is parsed from the same database records that power the device pages

What counts as a checkable pair

The database records 44 pairs of two kinds. Brand dual disclosures (38 panels): the brand itself publishes a solar meter figure and a spectrometer figure for the same panel, usually both at 6 inches. Publishing both is a transparency practice, and the solar figure is the one comparable to competitors' headline numbers. Independent measurements (6 panels): a third party put a spectrometer on the panel and the database records the matching brand claim; the independent figures here come from the published testing of Light Therapy Insiders and, for one panel, Outliyr. Pairs only qualify when both numbers and their measurement context are recorded in the database; nothing is estimated to fill a row.

The full table

Several brand figures are published as floors (a "greater than" number); the floor value is used, which if anything understates the ratio.

How to read this table

Dual disclosure is a credit, not an accusation. A brand listed here because it publishes both readings is being more honest than a brand that publishes one big unlabeled number. The rows measure the gap between instruments, and that gap is exactly why an unlabeled figure deserves skepticism: the marketing convention this table documents is to headline the higher reading.

Peak vs average matters. A spectrometer reading can be reported as the peak at the panel's center or as a multi-point average, and the two differ 15 to 20 percent on the same panel. Where the database records both, the average is used, except for the Joovv row, where the independent peak (the reading most favorable to the brand) is compared against the brand's floor claim.

Distance changes everything. Irradiance falls off steeply with distance, so a claim with no stated distance cannot be cleanly separated from a distance mismatch; the Joovv and Vital Red Light rows carry that caveat. The RLT Home rows compare a solar reading at 8 inches with a spectrometer reading at 6 inches, so the greater solar distance means those ratios understate the pure instrument gap.

Independent tests corroborate the dual disclosures. Where Light Therapy Insiders has also tested a dual-disclosing brand's panel, its spectrometer result lands close to the brand's own published spectrometer figure: the PowerPanel MEGA measured 81 average against a published 89, and the Refine 900 measured 73 average against a published 73. The spectrometer column, in other words, is the credible one.

Limitations

This is 44 panels out of a 188-device database, so it is a sample defined by disclosure, not a random draw. The measurements come from different instruments, operators, and protocols; a handful of pairs compare different distances, as flagged above; several claims are floors; and a solar meter figure is a legitimate reading from a different instrument, not a fabricated number. We do not operate a test lab: every figure here is compiled from published sources recorded in the database, per the methodology.

Reuse this data

This dataset is free to reuse with attribution to RedLightPanelIndex.com. Download the CSV (columns: brand, model, claimed mW/cm², claimed method, measured mW/cm², measured source, ratio).

Independent measurements attributed inline: Light Therapy Insiders and Outliyr, as recorded in the database. Brand figures are from each brand's published product pages, verified per the methodology. See also: why solar meters read roughly double and the dose calculator.