Lighting apparatus including a distance sensor for indoor plants

A lighting apparatus for use in indoor growing environments, comprising:

• a hanging assembly, the hanging assembly being adjustable in length;
• a light emitting diode (LED) assembly to project light onto one or more indoor plants;
• a mounting plate, the mounting plate to attach to the hanging assembly, the LED assembly to attach to the mounting plate;
• a power supply attached to the mounting plate and to provide voltage and current to the LED assembly;
• a sensor to determine a distance between the mounting plate and the one or more plants and communicate the determined distance;
• a comparison device to analyze the determined distance to identify if the determined distance is outside a pre-determined range, and to generate a signal to identify an out-of-range condition of the one or more indoor plants with respect to the mounting plate;
• an indicator to receive the signal identifying the out-of-range condition and to display a visual indicator that an out-of-range condition occurred;
• and
• a motor assembly, the motor assembly to receive the signal from the comparison device and to communicate a signal to the hanging assembly to adjust a length of the hanging assembly.