Adding lights to indoor vertical wall planters

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OVERALL DIFFICULTY INDEX: 3/10
IF YOU HAVE NO TOOLS, YOU PAY $75 TO GET THEM FOR THIS JOB
IF YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE YOU SPEND 6 HOURS TO CARRY OUT THIS JOB
RISK OF ELECTROCUTION WHEN CONNECTING POWER TO THE LIGHTS. OTHER INJURY RISKS ASSOCIATED TO THE USE OF POWER TOOLS.

BEFORE YOU START

Electrical connections are no joke. Make sure you cut the breaker that feeds the wires to which you will connect the new lights.
The chosen artificial light source is not a specific plant growing device and its light output is far from matching the sunlight "full spectrum" properties to which nature has adapted. It was therefore still necessary to select plants that do not require much light.

DISCLAIMER:
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.

Indoor wall planter lighting context

Plants in the apartment entrance suffer from a lack of sunlight like the case of this green wall where all plants perished. Suspended mini lights will be added for compensating with artificial light. Ultra low consumption LED sources of 2.5 W each and providing a white color are selected.

Material needed for the indoor vertical planter lighting

From left to right:
- Flat cable of a color that matches the wall to make it as invisible as possible or the one that has a transparent insulation. You could consider installing a small cable trunking. Your choice depending on what bends more into your walls.
-Cable fixing accessories and a universal transparent glue or super glue or both.
-Mini light fixtures. Remember that you're not growing plants or farming which eliminates the need for powerful and bulk projectors.
-LED lamps of a white color as close as possible to a temperature of 6500K. The ones found for this application are 5000K.
-Some 50l of peat moss.
-Plants that are suitable for indoor use and low light conditions.

How to install the lights of the wall hanged plant pots

1- Measure the width of your pots add 5 to 10 cm and mark the line where the lights will be installed.

2- The distance between the two lights will be double the one between each one and the green wall edge.

3- Check how the suspended light is to be fixed. Most will have a detachable support.

4- Mark the holes and drill them.

5- Fit the screw plugs.

6- Since the cable is surface mounted on the ceiling, a spacer will be needed as shown here after. You can buy these furniture nail pads to use their washer as a spacer.

7- Fix the supports to the ceiling and fit one spacer to each screw.

8- Mount a few cable fixing transparent accessories all along the cable route and fit the cable in. Do not worry about its appearance yet, see further below.

9- Prepare the fixture for connecting the cable.

10- Do not forget to adjust the height of the light source. Loosen the screw that blocks its cable...

11- ...and pull it either side to decrease or increase the height.

12- Empty a short length of a double insulated electric cable to use its outer insulation as shown below.

13- Slide a small piece of insulation in the flat cable in a manner that the light fixture touches it (and not the flat cable directly) once in place.

14- Gently tighten the fixing bolts.

15- Use wire nuts for the electrical connections..

16- You may consider removing the transformer and feed the light with 12V, which I did for an increased safety.

17- Use wire nuts on 12V connections too.

18- Test the lights. Note: the LED lamps will not necessarily work properly on an electronic transformer that provides an AC output.

19- You may now use a super glue to stick the cable to the ceiling. Better results are obtained with universal transparent glue after applying it to both sides and waiting a few minutes before assembly.