I guess I should have said VERY SIMILAR or ALMOST IDENTICAL
If I had an M250A, I could compare them up close. These seem very well made though. Kinda would have been nice if these had caught on and been used around here.
Ge used to have some brilliant engineers back in the day but I haven't seen anything original and built solid from GE since the 80s. The M-400 is a copy of the AE 125 and the new M-250R2s and the whole GE Evolve series are junk. Castings are paper thin, components are cheapened, etc. It's a real shame since anything GE prior to the 90s I totally love. They had some very original designs with a similar character, rock solid fixture built, superior reliability, they really had it all going for them. And then some point in the 90s things started making a turn for the worse at GE. I'd even dare to say Coopers are superior and I used to talk crap about them all the time. But having an almost-new OVZ and a brand new M-250R2, I can attest that the Cooper feels more solid. However, my 2009 M-400 is built like a tank (had a bad capacitor though, an issue GE has had since the 70s, first with 400W MVs, and then 250-400W HPS since the 90s).
I think the performance is terrible tbh since they only light a small strip with no light spill. All streetlights should not only light the road, but an area around it too. That way you can see if a deer is about to run out on a freeway or in a neighborhood it provides security lighting for surrounding houses and yards.
@ZarlogH46: Ah makes sense, as the Evolves have adjustable reflectors to direct light in a specific fashion. The AEL Autobahn in my display pic even has streetside shields because this light does flood pretty far off and gradually.
@ M@: I'm picking on them because they're junk. I wouldn't call being built thin and chintzy "efficient", I'd call it cheap and evidence of cutting corners. A more efficient casting would actually be thicker, as it would act as an excellent heat sink. The round AEL Autobahns have a very thick casting, glass optics, and actually maintain the profile of a cobrahead more so than most other LEDs out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge GE guy. But in the past 20 years they haven't made anything that impressed me.
I recently acquired some GE HPS lights. 1980s GE M400A FCO 200w HPS and a 12/2002 GE M400A3 400w HPS FCO. The M400A3 feels cheaply made! Much thinner cast body and a cheap tab that holds the power door (this same tab is also used in the Evolves). The A3/R3 series share almost nothing in common with the older traditional GE designs!
No wonder GE is quickly losing ground in the street lighting business, many utilities loyal to GE dumped them in favor of other makes for LED. PG&E won't install any GE Evolves, and only 2-3 cities in their vast service area installed them. Most use Cree or Leotek. My utility, SoCal Edison, however is going to install thousands of GE Evolves throughout its service area.
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If I had an M250A, I could compare them up close. These seem very well made though. Kinda would have been nice if these had caught on and been used around here.
No wonder GE is quickly losing ground in the street lighting business, many utilities loyal to GE dumped them in favor of other makes for LED. PG&E won't install any GE Evolves, and only 2-3 cities in their vast service area installed them. Most use Cree or Leotek. My utility, SoCal Edison, however is going to install thousands of GE Evolves throughout its service area.