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Save energy using plants

Trees and plants not only have a decorative function, they can also help to climatise the home. With the arrival of the summer heat, the shade and humidity that they provide help to create a cooler, more pleasant environment without having to turn on the air conditioning.

Air conditioning devices require a high level of electricity consumption and used excessively, they can cause health problems such as flu, colds, bronchitis and headaches. Using an appropriate amount of different plants around the house can be a natural and decorative alternative for obtaining a more pleasant temperature, since they humidify the atmosphere when the water they are given evaporates through tiny openings called stomas. 

If we have a garden 

A good option is to use climbers. As well as improving its appearance, a creeper that covers a wall provides precious shade and humidity. When selecting the type of plant, it is highly recommendable to go for a deciduous plant which will provide shade in the summer but does not block the sun in the winter, and since it reveals the wall once the leaves have fallen off it will not be used as a home by insects and pests. 

It is also important to take other variable characteristics of a climber into account, such as whether it can withstand direct sunlight or whether it must be planted in shadier areas, and the strength of the wind in the area where we intend to plant it. Hedges, trees and shrubs also help to create this valued shady area. 

For inside the home 

Plants are ideal because they also reduce the concentration of mould spores, dust and bacteria in the air, they increase the concentration of negative ions thus compensating the positive charge electric fields emitted by electrical appliances, in the summer they humidify the atmosphere and in the winter they generate heat like any other living creature. Placed by the window they can absorb the noise from outside. Naturally, in addition to all of this, they also have an important decorative function, creating a brighter, calmer environment. 

Depending on the temperature and light in each room, you will need to find the appropriate species, placing them away from heaters and radiators, and in order to make them more visible we can use hanging baskets and pedestals, which are available in a wide variety of styles and materials. If there is plenty of light we can go for bromeliads, African violets, balsam plants, begonias, orchids, bromeliaceae, etc. If light is scarce then species such as aloe plants, mother-in-law’s tongue, asparagus ferns and spider plants are more suitable. 

Bonsais and cacti have been in fashion for years and give a touch of originality to the house. Finally, it is worth clarifying that, unlike people often believe, having plants in the bedroom is not harmful since they consume minimal oxygen at night compared to that required by another person or a pet. Furthermore, they more than make up for this consumption during the day as well as providing the abovementioned benefits.  


 

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