Researcher Kamal Meattle explains how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air. The three plants are Areca palm, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue and Money plant.
Using these plants has a number of health and economic benefits. Health benefits include a reduction in eye irritation, headache, lung impairment, and asthma. The economic benefits point to an increase in human productivity in an improved environment, as well a reduction in energy requirements in buildings, because of a less need in fresh air.
“With the help of IIT, TERI, and learnings from NASA, we discovered that there are three basic green plants, common green plants, with which we can grow all the fresh air we need indoors to keep us healthy.”
Areca palm is a plant which removes CO2 and converts it into oxygen. It’s recommended to have four shoulder-high plants per person and wipe the leaves at least once a week.
Mother-in-law’s Tongue converts CO2 into oxygen at night. The recommendation is to have six to eight waist-high plants per person.
The money plant removes formaldehydes and other volatile chemicals.
You can watch a great presentation about this at this TED Conference:
Freedom For Sustainability 