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Sprout & Spectrum

VIVOSUN VS1000

The best efficacy number on this site, published without the second figure that would let anyone verify it.

By Scooter M. — An enthusiast who's genuinely into this. I read the manuals, compile the published specs, and do the math. No lab coat.

Published · How we pick

A white-light LED grow panel over young plants in a home growing space

Photographs on this site are licensed stock and are illustrative of the fixture type. We do not own the units we write about.

How this page is funded: the buy links here are Amazon Associates links, and we earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. We have not been paid to feature anything on this page, we accept no free product, and commission plays no part in the ranking. Full disclosure.

We have not tested these units. Everything below comes from the manufacturer’s own published specifications, or from arithmetic we have shown our working for. Where a figure is not published, we say so instead of estimating one. Read the method.

The reasoning

We have not tested this fixture. VIVOSUN publishes the highest efficacy figure of anything we cover — 2.75 µmol/J — and that number is worth taking seriously and worth being precise about.

The claim, and what would confirm it

VIVOSUN publishes 100 W, 2.75 µmol/J, Samsung LM301 diodes, a 380–780 nm range including 660 nm and 730 nm, 3000 K and 5000 K whites, four dimming levels and a daisy chain.

What it does not publish is PPF. That single omission is what separates this spec sheet from Spider Farmer’s.

Why one missing number changes what a claim is worth

Spider Farmer publishes 249.21 µmol/s and 2.5 µmol/J at 100 W. Dividing: 249.21 ÷ 100 = 2.49, which matches. The claim is falsifiable and it survives.

VIVOSUN publishes 2.75 µmol/J at 100 W and no output figure. Multiplying gives an implied 275 µmol/s, but that is our arithmetic on their claim, not a second independent figure. It cannot contradict the first, because it is derived from it.

A claim you can check and a claim you cannot are different kinds of object, even when the uncheckable one is the higher number.

Implied photon output from VIVOSUN's published figures
~275 µmol/s

100 W × 2.75 µmol/J. Our arithmetic on their claim, not a VIVOSUN measurement — which is precisely the limitation this page is about.

The spectrum range is worth noting

VIVOSUN publishes 380–780 nm, which is the widest stated range of anything we cover and dips just below 400 nm into the edge of UV-A. They do not characterize that portion further — no intensity figure, no separate UV diode claim — so all we can report is the stated range. We go through what every fixture publishes on this front in do grow lights emit UV.

What it would deliver, if the claim holds

Coverage at the implied output

Over its stated 2 × 2 ft footprint (0.372 m²): 275 ÷ 0.372 × 0.8 = about 591 µmol/m²/s — well above the high-light band, so dimming or spreading is appropriate.

At a seedling-appropriate 250 µmol/m²/s it would cover 275 ÷ 250 × 0.8 = 0.88 m², which is 9.5 sq ft.

Both figures inherit the uncertainty of the implied output. They are arithmetic on a claim, and we would rather label that clearly than present them as specifications.

Running cost

100 W at 14 hours is 42 kWh a month, about $7.70 at the US residential average — identical to the SF1000 and the P1000, because draw is draw. The efficacy advantage shows up as more light for that same money, not as a lower bill.

Who should buy it

  • Yes if you want the highest published efficiency in this class and are content to take the figure on the brand’s word.
  • Yes for a daisy-chained multi-shelf build with four-step dimming.
  • No if you want to compute your coverage from a figure the manufacturer actually measured, in which case the SF1000 is the fixture in this class that gives you one.

The fixture in full

A white-light LED grow panel over young plants in a home growing space

VIVOSUN VS1000

LED panel

Samsung LM301 diodes and a published 2.75 umol/J — the highest efficacy claim on this list, though the photon output it implies is never printed anywhere.

What VIVOSUN publishes

Power draw
100 W (source)
Efficacy
2.75 umol/J (source)
Stated coverage
2 x 2 ft (source)
Spectrum
380-780 nm, including 660 nm and 730 nm; 3000 K and 5000 K (source)
Diodes
Samsung LM301 (source)
Dimming
Yes, four dimming levels, daisy chain (source)

Our arithmetic

  • Photon output implied by the published wattage and efficacy: about 275 umol/s
    100 W x 2.75 umol/J = 275 umol/s. Our arithmetic from VIVOSUN's two published figures, not a VIVOSUN figure.

What VIVOSUN does not publish

  • PPF in umol/s
  • PPFD at any stated distance
  • Rated lifespan

Who should skip it

Skip it if you want the efficacy claim independently checkable. With no published PPF there is no second figure to divide against, so the number has to be taken on trust.

Questions people actually ask

+What is the VIVOSUN VS1000's PPF?
VIVOSUN does not publish one. Multiplying its published 100 W by its published 2.75 µmol/J implies about 275 µmol/s, but that is arithmetic on their claim rather than an independent figure, so it cannot be used to verify the claim it came from.
+Is the VS1000 the most efficient grow light?
It publishes the highest efficacy figure of the fixtures we cover, at 2.75 µmol/J. Whether it is actually the most efficient is not something the published data can settle, because there is no second figure to check that number against.
+Does the VS1000 emit UV?
VIVOSUN publishes a spectral range of 380 to 780 nm, which dips just below the 400 nm boundary into the edge of UV-A. They publish no intensity figure for that portion and no UV diode claim, so the stated range is all we can report.
+VS1000 or Spider Farmer SF1000?
The VS1000 claims higher efficiency; the SF1000 publishes a photon output that confirms its own efficacy claim. If you value a verifiable number over a higher unverifiable one, the SF1000 is the choice — and we would make that trade ourselves.

Sources

Read next

A macro photograph of a green leaf surface under bright light

Spectrum & PPFD

Do Grow Lights Emit UV?

What the published spectral ranges say about UV, fixture by fixture, with the gaps named.

Where this sits

This page belongs to Fixture Reviews and Roundups. Every figure on it is either quoted from a named published source or derived in view — the full method is on our methodology page, and how the site is funded is on the affiliate disclosure.