So you want to use plants to reduce CO₂
The article explores the theoretical feasibility of using houseplants to neutralize human-produced carbon dioxide in a home environment. It calculates the energy requirements for photosynthesis and concludes that the number of plants required would be impractical for typical indoor settings.
Why it matters
It debunks a common wellness myth using physics and biological principles, providing a reality check on the efficacy of indoor plants for air quality improvement.
Humans make carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is bad for cognition. But plants turn carbon dioxide back into oxygen. And plants are the one true home decoration strategy. So maybe if you get a lot of plants, you can you can keep carbon dioxide in check and keep your brain working?
It’s theoretically possible. It’s probably just barely possible in practice. But it won’t be easy.
People produce ~1 kilogram of carbon dioxide per day. That’s around 5.7 × 10²³ molecules or 0.948 moles per hour. (You may remember from high school that a mole is a gigantic number made up to avoid having factors of 10²³ everywhere.) Let’s keep it simple and call it one mole per hour.
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