NextLight Core LED Grow Light Overview

The NextLight Core LED Grow Light is the newest commercial-grade fixture from NextLight. The NextLight Core emits full spectrum white light designed for a full-cycle grow. This unit replaced the NextLight Mini. It is a larger, more powerful upgrade, and it covers a bigger footprint than the Mini.

The Core is 20.9" x 22" x 2.5" and it weighs 9 lbs. The fixture has a large form factor which helps spread the light evenly across the recommended footprint. There are no cooling fans - the unit is passively cooled via the aluminum casing. No moving parts are found on the Core, which helps extend the lifetime of the unit (fewer parts to break). The 120-277V auto-sensing Mean Well driver is encased in the center of the fixture. The Core comes with a connected Nema 5-15 plug 120V USA plug and is ready to plug-and-play straight out of the box.

The NextLight Commercial Series is designed & manufactured in the United States.

All NextLight products come with a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty. NextLight excels in quick turn around times for any warranty requests.  

The entire NextLight Commercial Series is UL listed for damp and dry locations. 

Diodes

The NextLight Core uses efficient 3000K and 5000K Samsung LM561B+ diodes which are rated for 100,000 hours at 77 degrees ambient temperature. That’s about 22 years on a 12/12 flower cycle. And 15 years on a 18/6 Veg cycle. Higher temperatures will decrease the lifespan.

There are no secondary lenses on the unit so without these you get increased efficiency and a larger light spread.

PAR Efficacy

The Core comes in at 1.92 umol/J, which is considered quite efficient. While it is not over 2.0 umol/J and not the MOST efficient light on the market, it still puts out a lot of light considering its low wattage draw.

PPF (Light Output)

The light output of the Core clocks in at 380 umol/s. This is not a huge amount of light, but it is a good amount given the size and coverage area of the fixture.

The fixture does not have a dimmer installed, but one may be installed after purchasing. You might want to check with NextLight regarding opening your fixture after purchase to ensure you do not void the warranty.

Wattage Draw

The NextLight Core only draws 190 watts and will replace up to a 400W HID system. It's perfect for small spaces where heat or venting is an issue.

When ran on 120V, the Core draws 1.6A, and when ran on 240V, it draws 0.8A.

The core emits 640 BTUs of heat.

Spectrum

The NextLight Core utilizes a 4000K full white light spectrum with near UV-A and IR light. The Red to Blue to ratio is about 1:1. The spectrum is ideal for seedling-to-harvest growth. The only thing you need to change is the hanging distance from veg to flower. Spectrum changes can shock plants from the veg to flower transition, so NextLight only uses a single spectrum to eliminate this transition shock.

Coverage Area and Hanging Height

Expect a 4'x4' coverage area for veg and 3'x3' coverage area for flower. This light is perfect for a lot of seedlings and clones, vegging several plants in a 4'x4' or flowering as many plants as you can fit into a 3'x3' area. The Core is a smaller version of the NextLight Mega, which is designed to flower 4'x4' to 5'x5' space.

It is recommended that this fixture is used 8"-18” above the plants during flower for the best results. You can use it at 24” to 36” for veg. Nextlight recommends you start high and adjust the height as the plants acclimate. Keep in mind that the further you bring the fixture up, the less intense the light will be, but you will gain coverage area.

PAR Readings

NextLight has provided PAR maps of the Core. The measurements were taken in a 2’ x 2.5” Gorilla Grow Tent. The PAR is quite high at 8” and 12” within a 24”x30” area.

I also took some PAR measurements of the Core in a 4'x4' Gorilla Grow Tent at different distances. See the 5:00 mark in video (at the top of this blog) for those readings. 

Summary

In summary, the NextLight Core is an excellent quality product backed by an awesome 5-year warranty. I highly recommend it for flowering up to a 3'x3' area or vegging up to a 4'x4' area.

Price

The NextLight Core is regularly $595.00, but is available for $535.50 at LED Grow Lights Depot. Plus, an additional 15% will be taken off automatically at checkout (or with code NEXT15), bringing your total to just above $455.00.

Check out or buy the NextLight Core here:

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