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NextLight Veg8 LED Grow Lights Review

Why the NextLight Veg8 is your next LED veg light

 

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The NextLight commercial series are some of the most efficient LED grow lights on the market. The Veg8 is one of the three LED fixtures in the NextLight commercial series - the other two being the NextLight Mini and NextLight Mega. The NextLight Veg8 emits a full spectrum white light and is designed for vegetative growth whether you are growing starters, leafy greens such as lettuce, vegging, or growing up clones.

Build

The Veg8 is 22" x 46” x 2.5’” and only weighs 10 lbs. It has a wide form factor - the dimensions of the fixture are nearly identical to its footprint which means you get a nice even coverage area under the unit.

There are no cooling fans - the unit is passively cooled via the aluminum frame and casing. Overall, there are minimal bells and whistles. The reason why the Veg8 might be more expensive than some other veg LEDs is because NextLight focused on high-quality diodes and the best driver on the market (Mean Well driver). The 100-277 VAC autosensing driver is encased on the rear of the unit in order to protect it. Two hanging hooks serve as attachment points for adjustable hangers, but these may be removed and the holes can be used for mounting under racks or installing your own hanging system.

The 120V version comes with a Nema 5-15 plug. The 240v models comes with a 6-15p plug.

Wattage

in The NextLight Veg8 only draws 190 watts and will replace an 8-tube T5 fluorescent grow light fixture which can draw up to 450W. That’s 60% less electricity and 60% less heat!

Simple math shows that the unit will pay for itself within 1 year assuming the bulb changes and extra energy cost with the 8-tube T5 fixture.

When ran on 120v the Veg8 draws 1.6A, and when ran on 240v, it only draws 0.8A.

Image: NextLight Veg8 comparison

Spectrum

The Veg8 utilizes a full white light spectrum with near UV-A and IR light. The red to blue to ratio is about 1:1 which is an ideal spectrum for good compact growth and efficient photosynthesis. A higher proportion of blue keeps plants stout while red drives growth.

 

Image: NextLight Veg8 spectrum

Compare the spectrum with an 8-tube T5 and see the differences. The Veg8 spectrum is more complete which is more beneficial to plants, compared to the T5 spectrum which is lacking a lot of red and other colors.

Overall, this spectrum has been proven to drive vegetative growth with excellent results.

There are some links at the end of this article if you would like to read up on the scientific literature regarding why white light might facilitate the best plant growth.

PAR

NextLight has provided PAR maps of the Veg 8:

Images: NextLight Veg8 PAR

The measurements were taken outside of a tent with no reflective material. Notice the PAR is similar or even a quite a bit higher than a standard T5 8-tube fixture. These PAR levels are sufficient for any type of plant in the vegetative stage.

 Veg8 vs T5 Lettuce Growth

 

Coverage Area And Hanging Height

Expect a 4 'x 2' coverage area with this fixture. One Veg8 is perfect for a lot of a seedlings, many clones, or a few plants in the vegetative state. Or you can grow as many heads of lettuce that you can fit under a 2x4 area.

If you need a large Veg light (or flowering light) consider the NextLight Mega, which is designed to Veg a 7' x 7' space or flower 5' x 5' space. You might also consider the NextLight Mini which can veg a square area of 3' x 3' or flower a 2’ x 2’ area. 

In most cases It is recommended that this fixture is used 12" - 24" inches above the plants during veg for the best results. You can hang the light closer but you will lose coverage area, but increase the light’s intensity.

One way to use this light is on a low profile vertical racking system for clones or leafy greens.

PPF

The light output of the Veg8 clocks in are 365 umol/s. This is the perfect amount of light given the size and coverage area of the fixture.

The fixture does not come with dimming capabilities or spectrum control.

PAR efficiency

The Veg8 emits a PPF of 1.92 umol/j and is one of the MOST efficient Veg lights on the market.

Diodes

NextLight uses highly-efficient 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 an 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 wider light spread.

Warranty

NextLight products are designed and manufactured in the United States with domestic and imported parts and they come with a manufacturer’s 5-year warranty.

Commercial listing

The entire Commercial Series is UL listed for damp and dry locations. They are also DLC premium listed and qualify for energy rebates with most energy providers.

Price

The MSRP on the Veg8 is is $595.00, but is available for $535.50 at LED Grow Lights Depot. You can also receive 15% off the NextLight Mini when you use code 'NEXT15' at checkout.

 

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Resources: 

Green Light Drives Leaf Photosynthesis More Efficiently than Red Light in Strong White Light: http://bit.ly/2tnydNc

Possible reasons of a decline in growth of Chinese cabbage under a combined narrowband red and blue light in comparison with illumination by high-pressure sodium lamp: http://bit.ly/2sqtT2c

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