Is a planter light a bad idea?

Question

My wife and I were looking for a light for the kitchen and came across this:

Seems like a bad idea to me:

1. Seems like watering the plant would be hazard
2. The heat from the light would kill the plant

Am I right, or is there a way to make this work?

Answer 1

Well I took some time to try and find this fixture to see if it was listed and the voltage used and light source.

“Beautiful halo” appears to be at best a horrible company at worst a total scam company. So I would not do any mail order from them 620 reviews 565, 1 Star reviews and only 24, 5 star reviews.

Could this be done with a live growing plant? Yes this could be easily done with low voltage that is finger safe. Voltages (you can touch the exposed conductors and not get shocked) or line voltage with GFCI protection built in.

Today LED lamps could be in both options low voltage or GFCI protected. with only 6-9 watts of power consumed a fixture of that size may not feel much more than warm if that. Wavelength of light 4500-7000K light spectrum would be good for vines or leaf growth. mix in some 2000-3000k LED’s and that would help with flowering so it is feasible it could be done safely and even get a listing.

As I mentioned swimming pools have wet niche light fixtures and they are safe when properly installed plant light Fixture should be easy.

I would make sure it has a UL listing if being used in the US. Not all stuff is safe or listed on the internet some just junk but if you purchase it at a brick and mortar store in the US you are usually safe as they can get in trouble for selling non listed equipment.

Answer 2

It's conceivable to have such a thing, but I would rely on two design keystones to do it:

• Low voltage, isolated power supply, so there's only 12V in the light. That's harmless.
• LED emitters to eliminate the heat problem you are concerned with.

Regardless, Ed Beal has identified that light as complete junk. You must be very, very careful when shopping for electrical things online. In fact, here's a word for that: Don't. The problem is that certain Asian countries are flooding our markets with absolute junk, and not even bothering to lowball the price anymore - if a real Leviton gadget costs $23, they will brazenly ask $21 when they used to ask $3. People believe that $3 connotes "fake" and $21 connotes quality. It's the same exact piece o'junk. Because of this flooding, any source - particularly Amazon - is completely unreliable. Consider only bricks-and-mortar firms such as Home Depot, or their in-house websites/curbside/home delivery, or better yet, proper family-owned lighting suppliers in your own town.

Everything you buy should have an NRTL mark such as UL, CSA, or ETL.

In particular the CE mark is the mark of fake trash; it's the "one they go for" when faking a safety mark, since enforcement is completely toothless. It only has meaning for a manufacturer and retailer inside the EU. CCC is also rubbish. FCC and RoHS have nothing to do with safety.