This is actually quite cool. I've had trouble with Vivosun in the past (stealing my videos for their marketing videos) though they did make it right when I brought it to their attention. Probably a marketing intern... But that light system looks like something I'd actually use and enjoy. Going to follow your link.
I just set mine up tonight. I was amazed at the brightness of this little light. I love the mobile app. Controlling the on time, lighting duration, and three preinstalled recipes for seedling, vegetative, and flowering stages right from my phone makes this light a no brainer.
Nice review of this item. My experience with things that have apps, hook to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth to phone, monthly subscriptions, ect. is sooner or later the app has bugs or doesn’t work, the Wi-Fi is bogged down or it’s draining your phone. I tend to shy away from ‘smart’ gadgets. I’m sure it’s fine for those that have great internet and possibly those that travel. This light looks like it’s best for grow tents or long tables? Not sure about fan and electric usage. The light may be uneven on edges or possibly too bright in middle. For me I’m very happy with my recent non ‘smart’ temp/hygrometer with alarm and transmitters and LED grow lights-No app, no subscriptions, no cloud, no phone draining. I believe these square lights are quite pricey. Probably the typical 50-75K hour lifespan. Not sure what the Kelvins are, but I’ve seen them list 3-5K. I’m very happy with my Barrina 2’ LEDs at 5K, 24 W each, bright white, T8 and connect up to 10 for a 5 shelf rack. These have double LED strips and are much better than the single strip T5s as I can now grow lettuce. Because there is no set standards for us to go by in grow lights I chose to clue in on Kelvins of 5-6500 Kelvins and more blue light for vegetation growth as I have no use for red spectrum for fruit and flowers, however red is still part of spectrum. I personally don’t believe in paying too much-$60 vs. $200, 300, 700.00 I’d give up growing by seed then as I can’t justify return and more than likely they all have same lifespan. It would be nice to see if there is a difference in growth between various lights and what the Kelvins, color spectrum and wattage use are on each.
Hi Gardener Scott, I was considering doing market research on grow lights. I trust your opinion in the world of gardening and you have saved me time again. Thank you for the light info and the efforts you put into your channel 👍
Thanks for sharing this info. Sounds like a terrific lighting system. Looking forward to hearing your follow-up review after you've used it for your seedlings.
Sounds quite excellent! I look forward to hearing your review after you've had the chance to use it for a while, and see how well it lives up to its marketing hype.
That is an interesting implementation. I would also be interested in how long it takes for the cooling fan, drive circuitry, and LEDs to fail. Of course those details will take time to discover. For now I will keep my shop lights with replaceable LED tubes.
Those are some cool features! I just got an "array 4" from migrow, and it's got a long 10ft cord going from the light to the driver so you can take the hot driver out of the grow space. Pretty cool to see all these new products come to light
I can’t justify high cost for seed starting. I couldn’t find this particular model, but according to other listed models I guessed it around that much. Thanks.
Hey Scott, I am with several other people who commented. The cost is prohibited. Most of us grow to save money on food. Like you, I have used LEDs for years successfully. An expensive light that you are advocating for people who can't afford them is probably not what you want to do. You are a leader in your past job. You should know..... KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
Thank you for your input, Roxanne. I have a very large audience of gardeners at many different levels. While I try to focus on easy, cost effective gardening methods, I've been asked by others to show new methods and new products. It's hard to make everyone happy, so I try to cover as much as I can and let the viewer decide what is best for them.
shop lights with replaceable LED tubes will forever be my go-to. If I wanted to "smart home" any of my setup I would just use smart outlets to control power.
I just got my first led, viparspectra xs1500. Great so far. Crazy how much more efficient led is over fluoro. 137$ for 150 watts, samsung diodes and meanwell driver.
Nice. I wonder if the hub works with home assistant? Controlling the lights on th phone is just the gateway drug. Soon you'll have your temperature and humidity detectors linked to your heaters and dehumidifiers. Who knows where it will end?
I am curious, can you adjust the intensity of the light? The fan I believe is to cool the light. How many watts does it pull? My full spectrum grow light is 600 watts but only pulls 136 watts. Very easy to fry plants. I have such a hodge pod of grow lights, everything from 40 to 136 watts. I need to get a more consistent lighting system for the amount of plants I grow. Yes you can start plants under a shop light, but depending on the wattage, lumens and kelvins, unfortunately some plants suffer if not moved around. Sometimes going cheap, costs you in the long run. Great video Scott, will definitely look into it. Plus, I have several Vivosun appliances and so far, no problems. Stay Well!!! Nice surprise to have a Tuesday video!
I had some of the same questions. The wattage and Kelvins should be on the box. I tried to find on their website, but wasn’t listed. I guessed it costs $2-300.00. Another commenter said about $210. I would suspect the flats would have to be rotated with this also. I have reasonably priced Barrina bright white 2’, 24 W, T8, 5K LEDs and they have been terrific for our two 5 shelf racks. I just can’t justify any high cost to start seedlings as I don’t want an $80 tomatoe 😂😂 So happy it’s in the 50s for the most part as I got the seedlings out to the greenhouse so I can have room to start tomatoes and peppers. Yippee! It was a crazy day as our chicks 🐥 arrived today. Lol, I just seen another price of $270😂😂
I noticed that your basil is already going. I am in zone 5 in Missoula which i believe is similar to you but i saw somewhere that starting basil too early may cause it to be dwarfed and start putting on flowers. Is it OK to start now. I spend a lot of time watching your videos and have learned so much. ThankYou
That basil is for my GreenStalk tower and will have a cover for cool nights. It is a bit early for my regular vegetable garden, so you may want to wait a bit.
nothing in that light is new. i have an LED "smart" light right now that can series and uses an app. its 5 years old. granted.. it doesnt have the fan lol ive also seen chinese lights on amazon with the "wings"
So they’re led but I wonder how many watts do they consume? (yes people I know watts is not light output) I also wonder how that would work in a 4 shelf shelving rack. Could you get one of these for the bottom 3 shelves? If not that’d be a deal breaker for me even if it weren’t crazy expensive.
How is this light working out? I ordered one, but once I found out that they are using low-grade diodes (less efficient than the LM301D, one of the low-end versions) I'm considering returning them. I asked Vivosun via Amazon which diodes are used. They said they are Everlight 2835, not the good Samsung ones.
I’m using new led grow lights this year and have noticed the leaves are turning a red color. Do you think the lights are too intense/close to the plants. I have the lights about 5” above the top of plants. I’m using barrina full spectrum lights.
I have Barrina and love them! Plant leaves will turn red if too cold. If they look bleached or curled probably too much light and burning. Non stop begonias were not growing at all and leaves were reddish, moved to top shelf away from fan and the next day the leaves turned greener and growing. Blueberry leaves turn red if too cold also.
Sound really exciting EXCEPT...I try to garden to get away from tech & electronic devices. No more apps! Nature, sunlight & soil are good for the soul...so I'll probably weaken & buy one anyway..
Hi, welcome to the channel! I like this light but its strength dissipates as it is raised above plants. Depending on what you're growing, I think at least three lights would be needed. Four might be better.
:wipes away a little drool: I wonder how fast I can save up $230USD.......? I do hydroponics in the greenhouse during winter and this would be amaaaaazing!
I just received an email from the seed Co I ordered tomato seeds from They informed me the seeds tested positive for tmv. Should I dispose of all my vegetable plants from my small lean to greenhouse? 😢
Sorry to hear that. If you already have the seeds or plants in the ground, and you're growing spinach, peppers, eggplants, or other plants susceptible to the disease you might want to dispose of them. You can still grow plants in that area but you'll need to do a little research to see if they would be affected.
I like mine personally. It's one of those cheap ones with the green plastic wrapped around it. However, that plastic only last one season then you have to replace which costs $90. I bought clear shower curtains at Walmart and reinforced for about $12. It helps me get my garden ready. Start my seedlings in there in January and they are more than ready to get into the ground March and April.
That's the one I own. The plastic has small squares that become small square holes. I left that on and just lined it with the curtains. Gets the job done.
Epic Gardening had a great video on comparison of glass vs. polycarbonate panels and how each gardener used them. I personally like the polycarbonate for my cold area and the fact there is less chance of plants burning from sun. I like our lean-to small square footage because the garden shed is the north wall and reduces heating. Some larger greenhouse owners will create a small tent inside to heat more efficiently. I don’t heat mine until we get steady temps in at least the 50s daytime. Hooray! We hit that and kicked the seedlings out.🎉
