Plants Light Shelf
This one is a fast one. Problem: I’m running out of shelf space for plants on my glass shelving unit. Solution: shine light on plants from above one of the glass shelves, while also being a platform for more plants to sit on top of.
Design
I have a A19 bulb that I bought a while ago for putting in a lamp in my bathroom and keeping a plant alive. However, the lamp I bought for that was too short and ended up cooking the plant I used at the time. So with no other real use for it, the bulb has been sitting in a box.
I didn’t want this to take up too much space, so the footprint is just big enough to get the bulb centered in the square. The height is also the minimum for holding the bulb horizontally.
I put a small ledge around the top to prevent stuff from sliding off. This did result in suboptimal print orientation for finish quality, but I think it’s ok.
The aluminum tape reflects all the light back down to the shelf below, and prevents the PLA from heating up too much.
Build
I used as few custom parts as possible because I didnt want to do this project any longer than I had to.
| Part | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Grow light bulb | Home depot | $11 |
| Lamp socket | Ace hardware | $8 |
| Lamp cord with no switch | Ace hardware | $10 |
| Aluminum tape | ??? | $10 ? |
| Zip ties | harbor freight | $3 |
I just used zip ties to hold the socket and cable because they won’t melt, wont slip, and are easy to design for.