The summer heat is often plaguing not only at work, but also at home. Can houseplants help here? Here is how you can use indoor plants to cool a room.
Anyone who has to sleep in a badly ventilated attic apartment in the summer or is on the sunny side of a building or office usually gets it very bad. The heat penetrates all the cracks and makes the stay unbearable. Often then create fans, air conditioning or other aids for a bit of cooling. But can the indoor climate be improved in a natural way?
Why you can use use indoor plants to cool a room
This is where indoor plants come into play: they not only bring some green to the premises, but moisturize the air and provide more oxygen. That’s because they use the chlorophyll on their leaves in combination with sunlight to convert some carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen , as the NDR reports. In short: photosynthesis.
On top of that, houseplants release up to 90 percent of the irrigation water back into their environment , so that the air is humidified. Especially in summer temperatures, this provides for a bit of cool – but even in winter, the humidification of plants helps against dry nasal mucous membranes.
Which house plants are best for air humidification?
Plant species with large leaves usually also convert more oxygen: These include the coccyx, nest fern, ficus, piston thread or Aralien . Cyprus grass is also known for discharging many liters of irrigation water into the surrounding air. Also, a variety of leaves helps the plants to convert as much CO2 as possible into oxygen – as is the case with the Ficus Benjaminus, for example.
Other recommended plant species are bow hemp and room palm : the former likes to stand in the sun, so you can easily place it on the windowsill. There he also keeps some sunbeams from entering the room. For the palm tree, however, you should make sure that the leaves are as large as possible, so that the effect is accordingly. As a rule, indoor plants can increase indoor humidity by up to five percent , the NDR reports.
Houseplants bring with them even more advantages: In the bedroom , hemp, orchid, bromeliad and true aloe also absorb carbon dioxide at night , so that the indoor air stays pleasant. Some plants such as ivy, philodendron and dragon tree even filter out toxins such as formaldehyde, benzene or trichlorethylene from the air. These are usually dissolved pollutants from furniture, paints or cleaning agents.
So if you are faced with the problem that in the summer all fans in the electrical shops are sold out, then try your luck with houseplants. They are not only relatively inexpensive and easy to care for, but also more durable and, moreover, noiseless. All good reasons to use indoor plants to cool a room.
