Lighting a green wall

Introduction to the green wall

The green wall is the best solution for those who do not have a garden (or too small) to have a green space. It’s a vertically positioned garden! Green walls can be designed sometimes as aesthetic decorative elements, as part of urban gardening, sometimes as works of art using plants, or even as elements of urban ecology.

The benefits of green walls

A positive impact on health

Plants have psychologically soothing properties, their color is relaxing, their presence is recommended in living and working spaces. The greening of a facade or an interior wall offers an additional and significant plant surface for air purification and oxygen production. Thus, the green wall, in addition to being magnificent, filters air pollution: you breathe in a healthy place. An increasingly trendy concept should be noted today: depollution by plants, called phytodepollution.

Advantages of green walls in the home

A vertical garden or green wall allows you to grow plants in unexpected locations, to play with the spaces of your home by creating new perspectives. Fixed on a wall, indoors or outdoors, it enlarges the space and creates an atmosphere of well-being. In an office or a bathroom, it offers the incomparable luxury of a window opening onto the garden. Green walls also allow:

• A natural improvement in humidity,
• Effective depollution of indoor air,
• Oxygen production,
• Effective thermal and acoustic insulation.
• They can also be used to hide old walls and add some greenery to big cities like Paris.

The design of a green wall

The structure of the wall

The design of a green wall consists of installing a metal or wooden frame positioned a few cm from the wall (in order to avoid humidity) then it is necessary to fix on this frame an expanded PVC base on which we will have previously stapled two layers of felt (called aquanappe).

The choice of plants

You have to make cuts in the felt to place the plants. The plants should be roughly similar in terms of growth and energy consumption. There is no point in keeping the soil because the felt acts as it.

The hydroponic irrigation system

Water recycling is part of a current trend of optimizing resources. We can therefore talk about hydroponics for green walls! Simply position the green wall in a container. The purpose of this tray is to collect water as well as natural fertilizers that you can add to the mix and recycle it. A hydroponic system water pump transfers water from the tank to the top of the wall of the living wall. The pump must be set to drip.

Lighting of green walls

The different types of lighting

1. Energy saving lamps: available in cold or warm color, they are efficient, but the light penetration will be relatively low as well as the lifespan.
2. Gas lamps such as Metal Halide or high pressure sodium: efficient but their energy consumption is high.
3. LED lamps: overcome the previous problems, but their price will be higher.

The importance of color rendering index (CRI)

The color rendering index (CRI) is very important when choosing your lamp. Indeed, you should know that the CRI defines the ability of the lamp to restore the colors of the objects or people it illuminates. The color rendering index, characterized by the symbol CRI or Ra, generally ranges from 60 to 100 (which corresponds to the color rendering index of daylight).

If the CRI is greater than 90, your lamp will provide very good, or even excellent, color rendering. If it is between 80 and 90, the colors of the objects will be well restored. If it is between 60 and 80, the color rendering will be average. Finally, if it is lower than 60, your lamp will not be suitable for domestic use at all. Again, this is a very important parameter. It's up to you to know what use you reserve for the chosen lamp.

Lighting placement

The light source must be fixed above the installation so as not to harm the perspective and above all to respect the phototropism of the plants. In the case of artificial lighting, position the plants that require the most light near the source on the upper part of the wall.

Conclusion

Green walls are an innovative and ecological solution for bringing greenery to urban spaces or interiors. They offer many benefits such as improving air quality, especially regarding structure, plant selection, hydroponic irrigation system and lighting. By taking these elements into account, you will be able to take full advantage of the advantages offered by green walls and create a healthy and pleasant living space for you and those around you.