Indoor Plant/Seedling LED Lighting Frame

This instructable details how to build your own PVC frame for lighting an indoor 6' folding table of plants or seedlings. I found that I needed to overwinter some of my plants inside my garage, and they needed a light source. I built this frame to support a number of LED panels that provide light for my plants. You could also use it for growing seedlings indoors before your outside gardening season begins.

These instructions are for a frame that will fit a standard 6' folding table. It will provide for two levels of lighting, one on the table itself and one on the floor beneath the table.

The PVC parts are readily available at your local Home Depot or Lowes, in the plumbing area of the store. Almost all of the parts are the connectors. I use 1/2" PVC tubing for the frame.

Connectors:

1. 34 1/2" 3-way tee (3T in Step 1 diagram)
2. 4 1/2" 3-way corner (3C in Step 1 diagram)
3. 2 1/2" 4-way tee (4T in Step 1 diagram)
4. 6 1/2" end caps (1F in Step 1 diagram)

Tubing:

1. 9 10' lengths of 1/2" PVC tubing

The PVC tubing typically comes in lengths of 10 feet. I used "Schedule 40" 1/2" PVC, which I believe is fairly normal stuff. It is flexible, but rigid enough to hold the shape when assembled and the LED panels are attached.

I DID NOT use any PVC glue to assemble the frame. I dry fit the entire frame without any glue whatsoever. I am using this frame seasonally. As soon as the weather gets nice enough, these plants are back outdoors. As such, I want to be able to disassemble it when I am not using it, and then assemble it back when I need it. You don't need to buy any PVC glue.

I used 3 LED panels per level (6 in total). I chose panels that are 12" x 12" since I had experience with them. They are thin, lightweight, self-contained, and they light up the table fairly evenly. Make sure to get the ones that are meant for plants, meaning that they have the correct wavelengths for plants to grow. You can pick these up on Amazon for a decent price. The frame can support almost any size or shape though since you are just attaching/hanging the lights from the frame.

You'll want a power strip to plug all of the LEDs into. Just make sure the strip has as many sockets as you will need (or daisy chain them as needed). And I have mine on a timer, so you may want to invest in a power strip with a built in timer or a heavy duty, 3-prong timer that you can plug the power strip into. I got mine off of Amazon.

You'll also want to have some 11" zip ties available for attaching the panels to the frame (4 for each panel, in my case 24 total). And of course you will want to have some kind of saw to cut the lengths of PVC. I have a DeWalt miter saw that makes quick work of it, but just a handy manual hack saw will work too.

And lastly, you will want to have a standard 6' folding table. I say 'standard' because these are typically around the same dimensions. Mine is approximately 72" long and 29" wide.

This diagram gives you an idea of how all of the parts fit together. It shows where each of the connector types is used, and the lengths of the tubing. It's not exactly to scale, so don't get hung up on that.

The basic idea is the frame supports 6 cross beams at each level that the LED panels are attached to. Each pair of cross beams are about 12" apart, the size of the LED panel. That makes it easy to attach the panel to the cross beams using zip ties.

The first level of lighting is on the table top itself, and the second level is at the ground level.

If you decide you don't want 2 levels, then you can adjust to not have as many cross beams (and connectors) on the lower level. Though you may still want a couple to provide stability.

You can adjust the distance of the panels from the plants by either hanging the panel using longer zip ties or by adjusting the lengths of the tubing at the corners are center or both. Adjusting the height using zip ties (or some other mechanism) is the most flexible.

I'm going to be doing this instructable for 2 levels since I have found that I can never have enough space to put plants.

Based on the diagram above, I have created a cut list for each length of PVC tubing. I'm assuming each length is 10' (120") with a little slop.

1. 4 - 30"
2. 4 - 30"
3. 4 - 30"
4. 4 - 30"
5. 2 - 30", 2 - 27.5"
6. 2 - 27.5", 4 - 15"
7. 2 - 15", 6 - 12"
8. 2 - 12", 15 - 6"
9. 8 - 10", 1 - 6"

In addition, you will need to cut 4 1.25" lengths. Since they are small, you should be able to use any leftovers long enough to cut from.

At the end of all the cutting you should have the following:

1. 16 - 6" lengths
2. 8 - 10" lengths
3. 8 - 12" lengths
4. 18 - 30" lengths
5. 4 - 27.5" lengths
6. 6 - 15" lengths
7. 4 - 1.25" lengths

Start by assembling the lower level. Lay out the tube lengths and connectors, as shown in the diagram, and then dry fit them together. I found it easier to put together the two long sides first (10", 12", 6", 6", 6", 6", 12", 10") and then to connect each side using the 30" cross beams. And then attaching the 15" legs. The 1F end caps go on the end of each of the 15" legs.

The only tricky part here is the use of 2 3-way tees (3T). On the diagram you will see that at each corner of the frame there is a "3T 3T". They don't make a connector that will connect a corner and connect a top and bottom tube (or at least they don't sell it at Home Depot). So, I use 2 3-way tees. The bottom 3T connects the long sides and has the leg out the bottom. Then connect the top 3T to the bottom 3T using the 1.25" tubing, and use the top 3T to connect the side cross beams. And eventually the top level will come from the top of the top 3T. I know this sounds confusing when you are reading it, but look at the pictures above to see how it works. It will make sense when you go to put it together.

You should now have the lower level assembled. (Ignore the LED panel in the pictures, that is going to come later.)

Now the rest of the assembly is super easy. But at this point you will want to place your lower level assembly around the table you will be using, and continue the assembly from there.

The only item to note is how the legs of the table are in relation to the nearest cross beams. Hopefully they don't interfere with each other. I found that I had some inches of clearance, and if your table is typical, you probably will too. But if not, you can adjust the lengths of the side tubing (ie cut different lengths) until your assembly fits under the table. You should have some left over tubing from Step 2, so hopefully you can just use that. But it is much more likely that the assembly will just fit.

Once you have it arranged under your table, you can assemble the upper level. Start by putting in the 4 upright corner pieces (27.5") and the 2 upright middle pieces (30"). Then working from the corners you can assemble the long sides. Once the sides are done you can attach all of the cross beams.

And that is it for the frame assembly. Just make sure that all of the dry fitted connectors are really well seated and connected and that the overall structure is stable.

The LED panels are attached to the frame using the zip ties. Each pair of cross beams should be slightly wider than the 12" panel (and the center pair will be even wider because of the added connector). There should be enough play in the 11" zip tie to handle that. I recommend you loosely zip tie each corner of the panel before adjusting the ties to center the panel. And you don't need to tightly zip tie the panel. It is useful to be able to slide the panel along the cross beams if you want to move plants around or just get easier access. At this point you can adjust how close the lights are to the plants, depending on your usage. Seedlings might need the lights closer when first sprouting, and then moving the panels higher as they grow.

One pro tip is to make sure all of your cords are facing the same direction. It will make it easier to plug them into the power strip with all the plugs on one side of the table.

You can arrange the power strip and timer and you are all set.

That's it. I hope you enjoy your lighting frame and grow lots of plants using it. From my photo above (ignore all that junk in front, lol), I have already filled up the lower level with other plants that are overwintering in my garage, so I know that I am enjoying mine.

If you have any suggestions or questions, please leave a comment. I try to answer comments to the best of my ability, and I edit and make changes to (hopefully) make things more clear. And if you have pictures of your build, please post! I love to see everyone's work.

Enjoy!