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Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

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Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#21

Post by lkbm »

jschwartzi wrote: post #11
derefr wrote: post #8

Half of the reason I enjoy working from home, is that my office has horrible stagnant air. I think far better anywhere (home, coffee shops, the park) that isn't my office.

I've actually purchased a couple of indoor plants, a snake plant and a peace lily, to help generate oxygen indoors. I noticed the air "tasted" better about a week after I put them in the room. And I also noticed the air in my office feels better than the air in my apartment which has no plants. Whether that's something measurable I don't know, but while having these plants here I feel like I perform better.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/houseplants-increase-oxygen-leve... did some looking into this possibility.

The TL;DR is that you're not likely to have enough plants to make a significant difference in terms of CO2/oxygen.

Doesn't mean there's no positive effect, but it's probably not due to oxygen levels.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#22

Post by xylia »

montecarl wrote: post #2

Is there any known mechanism through which air quality affects cognitive performance? The article does not suggest or refer to any research on the subject.

This book has some good info: Norwegian Secrets for Bringing Natural Air and Light into Your Home and Office to Dramatically Improve Health and Happiness

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062896223/skogluft/

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#23

Post by ajra »

sundvor wrote: post #15
ajra wrote: post #12

Assuming the filters do what the article supposes they do, what would be the cheapest and easiest way to test the air quality in my home and workplace?

You could build your own with a Raspberry Pie and an sds011 sensor. Edit: Example @ https://aqicn.org/sensor/sds011/

Thanks! I have an unused Pi lying around so it's a great suggestion for me.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#24

Post by sevencolors »

jschwartzi wrote: post #11
derefr wrote: post #8

Half of the reason I enjoy working from home, is that my office has horrible stagnant air. I think far better anywhere (home, coffee shops, the park) that isn't my office.

I've actually purchased a couple of indoor plants, a snake plant and a peace lily, to help generate oxygen indoors. I noticed the air "tasted" better about a week after I put them in the room. And I also noticed the air in my office feels better than the air in my apartment which has no plants. Whether that's something measurable I don't know, but while having these plants here I feel like I perform better.

As an advocate for more indoor plants, I’m glad they’re making your environments feel better! The “taste” you’re describing is probably just the normal byproducts of the bacteria in the plant soil. Most folks plants collections don’t actually produce the amount of oxygen and filtration that the Internet would have you believe. Unless you’ve created a near greenhouse. Which I’d be a fan of. But I feel that they do make out living spaces feel cozier and smell better :)

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/indoor-p...

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#25

Post by hanniabu »

lkbm wrote: post #21
jschwartzi wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually purchased a couple of indoor plants, a snake plant and a peace lily, to help generate oxygen indoors. I noticed the air "tasted" better about a week after I put them in the room. And I also noticed the air in my office feels better than the air in my apartment which has no plants. Whether that's something measurable I don't know, but while having these plants here I feel like I perform better.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/houseplants-increase-oxygen-leve... did some looking into this possibility. The TL;DR is that you're not likely to have enough plants to make a significant difference in terms of CO2/oxygen. Doesn't mean there's no positive effect, but it's probably not due to oxygen levels.

> Photosynthesis converts CO2 to O2, but plants also respire. During respiration they convert sugar and oxygen into CO2 and water. This is the reverse of photosynthesis, and it happens in all cells, all of the time, day and night.

Interesting, I wonder how that'll contribute to the snowball effect of global warming since as it gets hotter I'm sure they'll perspire more.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#26

Post by vkou »

jschwartzi wrote: post #11
derefr wrote: post #8

Half of the reason I enjoy working from home, is that my office has horrible stagnant air. I think far better anywhere (home, coffee shops, the park) that isn't my office.

I've actually purchased a couple of indoor plants, a snake plant and a peace lily, to help generate oxygen indoors. I noticed the air "tasted" better about a week after I put them in the room. And I also noticed the air in my office feels better than the air in my apartment which has no plants. Whether that's something measurable I don't know, but while having these plants here I feel like I perform better.

To live, you need ~400L of O2/day.

If you want your plants to provide even 10% of that number - 40L, your houseplants will need to take CO2 out of the air, store the carbon, and release the oxygen.

This means that they will need to grow by ~300g - nearly a pound, a day, in order to produce 40L of oxygen.

Unless your home is a wild, gymnasium-sized jungle, your houseplants aren't producing any measurable amounts of oxygen. And, as a bonus point, they aren't even cleaning your air. (Although they do provide a lot of new surfaces for dust to settle, that you have to clean.)

If you want to breathe better, open your windows. If your outside air has too much crap in it, buy a HEPA filter. If you breathe fine, and there's too much crap in the air, buy a fan with a HEPA filter attached to it (Also known as an air purifier.)

If you want plants near you, buy plants.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#27

Post by vkou »

hanniabu wrote: post #25
lkbm wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/houseplants-increase-oxygen-leve... did some looking into this possibility. The TL;DR is that you're not likely to have enough plants to make a significant difference in terms of CO2/oxygen. Doesn't mean there's no positive effect, but it's probably not due to oxygen levels.

> Photosynthesis converts CO2 to O2, but plants also respire. During respiration they convert sugar and oxygen into CO2 and water. This is the reverse of photosynthesis, and it happens in all cells, all of the time, day and night. Interesting, I wonder how that'll contribute to the snowball effect of global warming since as it gets hotter I'm sure they'll perspire more.

Plants solve prespiration by bringing water from their roots, up to their leaves. They burn sugars for energy they need to live, not for water they need to stay cool. Sugars are difficult to make, water can just be pulled directly from their environment.

So, it won't be a noticeable effect.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#28

Post by im3w1l »

burfog wrote: post #20

At home it matters too. I recover faster from chest colds when I remember to keep the HEPA filter running. (instead of a simple speed knob, it boots up to a multilingual color display that I can't even dim, and of course the filter defaults to "off") Here is a common air quality problem. Anybody have ideas? My house is in a hot and humid area, so I run the air conditioning most of the year. The duct work appears to b…

I don't have any experience in this, but my intuition would be to seal it, mold and bare fibers both.

Re: Installing air filters in classrooms has large educational benefits?

#30

Post by im3w1l »

hanniabu wrote: post #25
lkbm wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/houseplants-increase-oxygen-leve... did some looking into this possibility. The TL;DR is that you're not likely to have enough plants to make a significant difference in terms of CO2/oxygen. Doesn't mean there's no positive effect, but it's probably not due to oxygen levels.

> Photosynthesis converts CO2 to O2, but plants also respire. During respiration they convert sugar and oxygen into CO2 and water. This is the reverse of photosynthesis, and it happens in all cells, all of the time, day and night. Interesting, I wonder how that'll contribute to the snowball effect of global warming since as it gets hotter I'm sure they'll perspire more.

Plants work on a similar principle as human nutrition. CO2 in - CO2 out = weight gain. A growing plant is on average* a net absorber of carbon dioxide.

* On average, not constantly. Since they can't do photosynthesis in the dark, they release CO2 at night.

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