When buying a houseplant what is the ‘quality’ that you look for? Will it be for a ‘kitchen’ or ‘terrace’ garden? Should it be one bearing flowers, or fruits and vegetables, or purifying? Or will it be ornamental... or ecological? Or maybe, a mix and match?
Whatever you choose, but celebrate the day today – Tuesday, April 13 – which many mark on their calendars as Plant Appreciation Day.
Moreover, the pandemic has forced people to spend most of their time indoors. Gardening may prove a good option at this time.
Perhaps considering these factors, SaveOnEnergy.com/uk wanted to find out how effective certain houseplants are at taking in CO2 and cleaning our air. They then ranked them, beginning with the most air-purifying on top.
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Though plant respiration follow a pattern, the amount and exchange may vary. Thus, the study found most effective plant for absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) and reducing carbon footprint is a prayer plant, a member of the Calathea family. The prayer plant took in 14.4% of the total CO2 in the chamber, which is about 0.0003kg.
And the least air purifying houseplant considered is the spider plant. It was found to be able to absorb just 0.1% of the total CO2, or about 0.000002 kg.
Image: SaveOnEnergey.com
The study was conducted by replicating the home environment. SaveOnEnergy took data with light levels similar to those of bright, indirect sunlight, and a starting ppm (parts per million) of CO2 comparable to an indoor space with no ventilation.
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Plants were observed over a 24-hour period, and an average was taken over this time.
Another finding in this experiment was that eight out of the 10 plants studied were able to remove over 10% of CO2 in 24 hours
