The Windowsill Orchidarium Project
 

Hi Everyone,

After writing many drafts of the problem and the solution I have in mind, I thought a doodle would actually say it most effectively, so here goes.

This problem is probably faced by a large number of people growing plants in the urban space:
https://i.imgur.com/Hkywrf7.jpg

The solution:
https://i.imgur.com/OWbZiOq.jpg

Why am I calling it an Orchidarium project?
Even though the main change is to be as a result of lighting, I will need to automate everything, Lights, fans, humidifier, watering.

Regards,
Seshadri

---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------

I began the project with my biggest problem: light.

I have three distinct groups:
1. Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilums
2. Cattleyas, dendrobiums and (wishful thinking-vandas)
3. Species collection (needing high light and a rest period, and which grow in a very naturally disorganized manner)

All three groups need a similar kind of arrangement:
Taller growing plants/lower light plants at the bottom on tiers, and the grill on top populated with mounts/hanging pots.

For example, in window 1, the paphs would be on pots on tiers at the bottom, and the phals would be hung on the grill.
https://i.imgur.com/AKy5o90.jpg

This means that I need to buy/design/make a light that can sit on the top, but has the strength to reach the plants at the bottom, has to be cheap, and doesn't inflate my power bill!

---------- Post added at 06:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:41 PM ----------

In Mumbai, the weather is hot, then wet, then hot again, barring a couple of months nov-dec, when it gets cool enough to not need air-conditioning.

So now my lights need to be cheap, bright, efficient, and cool. that pretty much narrowed my choices down to LED lights.

To that end, after a lot of reading(mostly here), I ordered these lights from aliexpress,
https://i.imgur.com/QxSuuyq.png
1pcs Hydroponice AC 220V 20w 30w 50w led grow chip full spectrum 380nm 840nm for indoor led grow light-in LED Grow Lights from Lights & Lighting on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

and posted an enquiry here:
Why LEDs make bad plant lights (facts + pics!)

The update is, @Naoki, you were right, that fan is sufficient for the light. The first fan I tried with was faulty.
When I tried it again yesterday, it stayed cool, even after 3hrs, so the cooling for these leds is now resolved.
Now I will be creating an array, and measure the light output vs power consumption.

Regards,
Seshadri

That is an impressive project. Amazing job. Good luck.

Birds can really do the damage. Good luck! I hope you have great success with your project and orchids!

Hi everyone!

First, apologies for disappearing after initiating this thread. Many changes in life contributed (business, moving to a new house, and a child).
Moving to a new apartment meant I could not put plants on the windowsill, and so the project was terminated.

A couple of quick points on the LEDs in the previous posts. Though easy to use, the light output was only 1500lux when measured at 50cm away. If it was really a 50W LED at 80lm/watt, I should have got a reading of 5000lux or so. That meant that the unit might consume 50W of power, but the LED is definitely not a 50W led. Probably a 20-30W chip, I have no way of finding out. Anyways, that was that.

However, can’t go without orchids, can we?

Since the only space available to me to do with as I like was my studio (no usable window-sills here either), I have been building a completely indoor Orchidarium, with plants growing only under artificial light.

I will be starting a new thread to share my experience.

Thanks again everyone!