A system to help young adults care for more indoor plants with limited space and lack of knowledge for how to care for them
Why do young people struggle to care for plants?
Limited Space
Houses are smaller than ever and prices are rising, meaning that an increasing proportion of the 18-35 age range live in rented, shared accommodation. This leads to limited dedicated space for plants.
Limited Disposable income
Young adults have the lowest disposable income by age group in the UK, however research has shown they are not opposed to spending. Most spending is done compulsively or seen as a reward for working hard. Price is a key driver in this target market so solutions must be affordable.
Lack of plant care knowledge
A 2020 survey showed that many young people feel anxious about owning plants. Many worried that plants were too much of a burden. They worried that they didn’t know how to care for plants and would kill them.
Who is the product for?
“My Student room is the only place I have to decorate and I love my plants but don’t want them to die in my dingy room!”
-
Something to provide consistency while he’s busy with university
-
His room is very small and has limited storage so something multipurpose would be great for him
-
Something modular would be suitable as it would allow the system to adapt to the space in his new student house each year
-
He particularly struggles with a lack of light in his room
"I’m so fed up of killing plants and wasting money on buying new ones but I love how they look in my home”
-
A product that directly improves plant care would prevent christina from killing more plants
-
Alerts or prompts to care for the plant would help as shes very forgetful
-
The solution must require no permanent fixtures as she lives in a rented flat
-
It should also be compact as her flat is relatively small
“Now I own my own place I want more permanent decorative plants but I don’t want to waste money on expensive ones if they’re going to die”
-
A product to give her more confidence in caring for plants
-
Something that helps care for trickier plants because she can keep low maintenance plants alive quite easily
-
An aesthetic product that showcases the plants is very important
-
Hummidity is something she struggles to understand
Developing a floor to ceiling storage system
Frame
The frame is designed to fit in any home without any permanent fittings. This allows users to design their frame around the limited space in their homes and is suitable for rental properties. The post is supported by compression between the floor and ceiling, with rubber pads on the end supports to prevent it slipping. The post are made up of different length poles that are screwed together. A twisting mechanism was designed into the top to ensure a tight fit and constant compression between the floor and ceiling. All accessories are attached to the posts with supports that clamp around the post and tightened with a screw that holds the shelves, hanging rails and mesh frames in place.
Watering
Over watering is the top killer of house plants. Many people are unsure of what their plant actually needs including how much and how often to water plants. The best method for watering plants is leaving the plant to properly drain after watering so water doesn't sit in the pot. To help users more easily water plants, a drip tray was incorporated into the shelves to collect water and easily dispose of it. The drip tray utilises a modified pop-up sink mechanism to empty the drip tray so water can be collected and recycled.
Grow Lights
This system takes into consideration all aspects of plant care. Semi-automated grow lights mean that the system can be placed anywhere in the home and plants can get enough light through all seasons. The lights were developed to be an artistic feature of the frame as many grow lights currently on the market are not aesthetically pleasing. The lights use standard light fittings so users have the freedom to select their chosen brand of Grow Lightbulbs. The lights are also IP44 rated so they can withstand splashes from misting or watering the plants.
Tipping Pots
Research showed that users are not only fearful or not knowing how to care for their plants but also forgetting to care for them. Self-watering plant pots are ideal for plants that love high moisture content soil and for users with busy schedule. These pots hold a water reservoir that the plant can absorb from and when this reservoir is empty the pot tips forward to indicate this to the user. Significant development went into ensuring the pot is at exactly tipping point, given that different plants have different masses and centre of gravity, a magnet on the base will ensure the centre of gravity is under the pivot point when the reservoir is full.
Design for Manufacture
To ensure the product is fit for purpose, it must be manufacturable and affordable. The same materials and processes were used for as many parts as possible to keep costs down. Parts were either injection moulded, die cast or extruded. Each part was analysed by material cost and part quantities to determine if the chosen processing method was suitable. All this information was compiled into a technical report to demonstrate part costs, assembly and manufacture details. Solidworks Flow Analysis was used to check the suitability of injection moulded parts for processing including draught, weld lines, sink marks and processing time. This was used for hand calculations of part costs which was compared with any online calculator to verify part costs.
Key Innovations
Easier watering techniques
Watering is the biggest killer of house plants so this design incorporates three methods of improving watering technique: tipping pots, drip trays and a plant care app. All methods will help users keep a consistent watering schedule and prevent over watering.
Confidence in all aspects of plant care
Many young people are put off buying plants as they are anxious about keeping them alive and the expense of plants if they keep dying. This design takes into account all aspects of plant care including watering, light and humidity. Grow lights mean the system can be placed anywhere in the home and "smart" placement of the plants can keep humidity levels high.
Adjustable to fit into any home
The design is modular and fully adjustable meaning space is less of a limitation for users. The posts can expand to any height from 1000 - 3600 mm and is available in widths of 300 or 600mm. These can be combined in any arrangement to create frames of any size. The height allows for the system to be mounted from surface to ceiling as well as floor to ceiling so could also be used as kitchen or bathroom storage without the need for permanent fixtures
Affordable options
The modular design of the system means there aren't large initial investment costs in the product. Users can purchase a small unit or even just some accessories and gradually expand their collection. There is also premium accessory options such as the timber frame and shelves but also a standard option of the matt black accessories so users are not discouraged due to price.
Aesthetic freedom
Many users value their own styles in their homes and research showed most plant owners like to select and use their own plant pots. This design allows the user to have complete aesthetic freedom over the system by selecting the material and colour of the accessories and how they display their plants. The system can also be used as multipurpose storage, ideal for small homes with limited storage space.
