This would reduce the penetration with the use of wider lenses. Also lenses will reduce efficacy a small amount. Much like the synce lights. This is not necessarily bad as spread vs intensity is a balancing act. This is why i say lights like
gavita strips that can be run 12" are IMO great for height limited spaces and get the most light to the plant with the least light bleed and most even coverage without hot spots like timber,
hlg and others. This is why it's so beneficial to have dimmers so you can adjust height and intensity to get the most even spread at the right intensity
With timbers having cob style lights it comes from a single source and requires a lens to spread it out. With a lot of diodes spread out evenly you can run much closer preventing bleed and getting more even coverage.
But all this needs to be put together with open air or reflective spaces and taking overlap, hot spots etc. Into account.
The spectrums and ratios can differ between lights. When we talk penetration its basically the focused direction of the light and the height needed for even coverage while maintaining a certain intensity.
Then there is the efficacy and other factors. Basically what I'm saying is timbers,
HLG, gavitas, HID and all sources if having the same spectral qualities still don't all suit the same type of grows.
Maybe im not understanding but can you tell me what makes timer say a better light than
HLG? I get the 16-18" above the canopy but thats only part of the info. How close together do they need to be for even coverage at that height? And how high can you run the wattage at that height? How even is the coverage at that height when spaced as directed.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with timbers but I'm not sure how less diodes or a more concentrated light can allow them to run the same or closer without lenses that spread the light and that would increase light bleed not reduce it