My Plant LED lights for indoor gardening

Reuben Lee | Jul 21, 2008

Now here's something for plant-loving city dwellers. My Plant, a plant-rearing LED stand, is aimed at those who want to grow plants indoors but are finding it difficult to do so due to the lack of sunlight. My Plant comes with two lamps, each made up of 10 red and two blue LEDs. By placing the lamps at a certain distance (10cm to 40cm) to the plants, the blue and red LED lights are effectively absorbed by the plant to promote photosynthesis. While the LEDs are said to be similar to ultraviolet rays from flourescent lights and will not be harmful to human body, it will burn the plants if placed closer than 10cm. As with all cultivation of plants, carbon dioxide and water will still be needed.

A built-in timer means you don't have to worry about when to switch on and off the LED lights. It is recommended that My Plant is used from 6am to 8pm (based on Japan's 14-hour summer setting). The manufacturer claims the 50,000-hour lifespan of the LEDs should last almost 10 years on daily usage. Its low 1.6-watt power consumption is estimated to cost about 17 yen (US$0.16) per month to maintain.

The My Plant LED lights is also recommended for growing herbs such as rosemary and mint, as it helps to fill the room with natural aromatic fragrance. It is retailing online for 7,980 yen (US$74.74), plants not included.