If you are keen to try and enjoy the natural world as much as possible, that’s something that is always going to be possible to achieve. In fact, there are so many ways to enjoy nature and to make this more a part of your life, so that is something that you should absolutely be aware of here. In this post, we are going to take you through some of the best examples of how you might be able to do just that. You should find that the following is all well worth being aware of and trying out for yourself.
Grow A Garden
One thing you may want to try your hand at is growing a garden. If you have the space at home to do this, then that is certainly going to be worthwhile, and it’s something that can help you to feel a lot closer to nature and the natural world in no time. There are many ways to approach this. You might grow fruit and veg, or you might just want to have nice perennials and flowering plants. In either case, growing a garden is a great ecological thing to do, and will help you to enjoy the natural world in your own home.
Bring Nature Indoors
You might also want to bring the natural world indoors as well. This is something that can make the home a much nicer place to live, as well as strengthening your bond with nature, so it’s a very simple thing that can make a huge difference to your life for sure. It’s a simple case of having some pot plants around the place, and making sure that you care for them properly and fully. If you can do that, it’s going to mean that you are much more able to really enjoy your home and nature in one.
Go For Walks Outdoors
You might also want to think about going for some walks in nature. This is a really powerful way to get attuned to the natural world and to feel as though you are part of it, and it’s something that can help you to enjoy yourself so much more on the whole. You might even consider going barefoot for some of it. However, if you want to do that, make sure that you protect your feet as you do so. All in all, walking in nature is a beautiful experience, and one that you can definitely consider.
Visit Gardens
There are also a lot of gardens that are available for the public to go and see, and these can be a great way to enjoy nature in a sense. If you want to do this, just take a look online and see if you can find any in your area that you might want to check out. You might be surprised at how many open gardens there are. This is a really simple and fun way to make sure that you are enjoying nature a lot more.
The Top Low Maintenance Houseplants for Air Purification
Snake Plant
Aloe Vera
English Ivy
Spider Plant
Peace Lily
Boston Fern
Rubber Plant
Golden Pothos
Bamboo Palm
Chinese Evergreen
Snake Plant
The snake plant, also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, is one of the most popular low maintenance houseplants for air purification. This plant is great for beginners as it can survive in almost any lighting condition and doesn’t require frequent watering. It also removes toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is not only a great houseplant for air purification, but it also has several other health benefits. This low maintenance plant can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. Aloe vera is known to remove formaldehyde from the air and can be used to treat minor burns and skin irritations.
English Ivy
English ivy is another low maintenance houseplant that can purify the air in your home. It can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. English ivy is known to remove toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air.
Spider Plant
The spider plant is a great choice for those looking for low maintenance houseplants for air purification. This plant can remove formaldehyde and xylene from the air and survive in low light conditions. It doesn’t require frequent watering and is safe for pets.
Peace Lily
The peace lily is a beautiful low maintenance houseplant that can also purify the air in your home. It can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The peace lily is known to remove toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air.
Boston Fern
The Boston fern is a popular choice for those looking for low maintenance houseplants for air purification. This plant can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The Boston fern is known to remove toxins such as formaldehyde and xylene from the air.
Rubber Plant
The rubber plant is a low maintenance houseplant that can purify the air in your home. It can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The rubber plant is known to remove toxins such as formaldehyde from the air.
Golden Pothos
The golden pothos is a low maintenance houseplant that can also purify the air in your home. This plant can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The golden pothos is known to remove toxins such as formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air.
Bamboo Palm
The bamboo palm is a low maintenance houseplant that can remove toxins such as benzene and formaldehyde from the air. This plant can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The bamboo palm is also pet-friendly, making it a great choice for those with furry friends at home.
Chinese Evergreen
The Chinese evergreen is a low maintenance houseplant that can purify the air in your home. It can survive in low light conditions and doesn’t require frequent watering. The Chinese evergreen is known to remove toxins such as benzene and formaldehyde from the air, making it a great choice for those looking for a low maintenance plant that can improve air quality.
How to Care for Low Maintenance Houseplants
Low maintenance houseplants are great for those who don’t have much time to devote to caring for plants. Here are some tips on how to care for them:
Water: Most low maintenance houseplants for air purification don’t require frequent watering. Overwatering can harm your plant, so letting the soil dry out between watering sessions is important. You can check if your plant needs water by sticking your finger in the soil. If it’s dry, it’s time to water your plant.
Light: Most low maintenance houseplants can survive in low to medium light conditions. However, it’s important to make sure your plant is getting enough light to thrive. If your plant starts to look droopy or its leaves start to turn yellow, it may be a sign that it’s not getting enough light.
Soil: Use well-draining soil for your low maintenance houseplants. This will help prevent overwatering and root rot.
Fertilizer: Low maintenance houseplants don’t require frequent fertilizing. You can fertilize your plant once every few months with a general-purpose houseplant fertilizer.
FAQs
Can low maintenance houseplants really purify the air?
Yes, certain houseplants are known for their ability to purify the air and remove toxins.
How often should I water my low maintenance houseplants?
Most low maintenance houseplants don’t require frequent watering. It’s important to let the soil dry out between watering sessions.
Are low maintenance houseplants safe for pets?
Most of the low maintenance houseplants listed in this article are safe for pets. However, it’s always a good idea to check if a plant is pet-friendly before bringing it into your home.
Can low maintenance houseplants survive in low light conditions?
Yes, most low maintenance houseplants can survive in low to medium light conditions.
Do low maintenance houseplants require frequent fertilizing?
No, low maintenance houseplants don’t require frequent fertilizing. You can fertilize your plant once every few months with a general-purpose houseplant fertilizer.
The workplace as we know it has evolved dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic, expanding into our homes and complex digital-physical spaces. As organisations and their employees continue to navigate hybrid working arrangements this year, how can technology help to shape green and conducive workplaces of the future?
Many new innovations are aimed at helping workplaces save energy. While energy efficiency may not be the snazziest of climate solutions, it remains a potent and cost-effective way to slash emissions without major reworks of existing infrastructure. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected that low-cost measures, such as better ventilation and LED lighting, if implemented globally, could slash 3.5 gigatonnes worth of carbon emissions a year.
The savings would amount to 40 per cent of the emissions that need to be abated to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. With the increased focus on climate mitigation, energy efficiency solutions for the built sector is now a US$340 billion market globally that is set to grow by over 8 per cent through 2027.
In addition, in Singapore, energy efficiency incentives like the Green Mark Incentive Scheme are encouraging companies to pursue smart, sustainable and predictive solutions in the workplace. Companies are paying closer attention to their carbon footprint to support sustainability goals, and this requires more tools to monitor and optimise utilities consumption.
These tools usually come in the form of building intelligence systems, such as SP Digital’s GET Control. The system uses AI and IoT to optimise and regulate air-conditioning and maximise energy efficiency in real-time, based on changes in occupancy, current weather conditions and forecast data. The smart damper system, for example, divides large open-plan office spaces into micro-zones to enable better air-flow distribution and control. With predictive intelligence working together with all the sensors and smart dampers, data is sent wirelessly to a central control unit that recommends and adjusts the dampers dynamically such that the desired temperatures are met, making the office energy efficient and comfortable.
GET Control’s Dynamic Airflow Balancing in real-time is suitable for brownfield and greenfield projects. Image: SP Digital
These heat maps show how air temperature is regulated by GET Control. Left: Before implementation, there are hot and cold spots in the office. Right: After implentation, the office is evenly cooled. Image: SP Digital
Clement Cheong, SP Digital’s vice president of sales and customer operations, says that GET Control responds to the needs of corporate real estate owners and commercial landlords in Singapore.
“Landlords are seeing more occupants coming into work and at different times,” he says. “They need to adapt their buildings and systems to cope with this change dynamically. For example, they do not need as much cooling or fresh air supply at non-peak or low occupancy periods.”
Moreover, he adds that the pandemic has also made employees even more conscious of indoor environmental quality. “They want to have visibility into IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) and the building’s measures to monitor and improve IAQ. Even though occupants may spend less time in the office, they want a better, healthier indoor experience.”
He explains that currently, building owners or tenants have limited visibility into indoor air quality in offices and limited ability to intelligently control it. Traditional air side control and management technologies tend to be “reactive”, that is, facility managers make adjustments when occupants complain of any indoor thermal discomfort. Because such technologies do not take into account dynamic changes in ambient temperatures, they are not as energy efficient as a system with real-time tracking capabilities like GET Control.
He shares a case study from an educational institution in Singapore, where facility managers were faced with frequent occupant complaints about hot and cold spots in the office. Besides the fact that facility managers had to make time-consuming manual adjustments, the building’s cooling efficiency was poor, resulting in high energy use and carbon emissions. When SP Digital’s GET Control was deployed, the site saw more than 30 per cent airside cooling energy savings, enhanced thermal comfort and indoor air quality for employees, and improved operations and productivity.
On a larger scale, some multinational corporations are leading the way in greening their offices, and their examples might provide insights into the future of the sustainable workplace. One of them is Meta, which operates the social media platform Facebook and aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in carbon by 2030. At its 260,000 square-feet office in Singapore, spread over four floors at Marina One Tower, this target has translated into environmental control systems that use the latest in automated sensor technology, which can optimise even the smallest indicators of energy efficiency. Numerous sensors are in place to measure temperature, air, light and motion open spaces, meeting rooms and lifts.
Apart from office management, Meta Singapore also uses technology to assist employees to adopt carbon reducing behaviours, and, while in the workplace, to holistically analyse their carbon footprint across the product supply chain, recycling, water and waste management.
Looking ahead globally, the journey to make buildings more sustainable will be a long one. Currently, the built environment is responsible for nearly 40 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the 2020 pandemic caused a drop in the buildings sector carbon emissions, followed by a moderate rebound in 2021, but buildings are not on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
In Singapore, energy efficiency remains a core tenet of the city-state’s decarbonisation pathway, even as longer-term solutions such as carbon capture and clean energy imports are being considered for the next few decades. Power generation firms are provided subsidies to upgrade their turbines and software; a similar fund is in place for building owners to buy more efficient air-conditioning systems and install motion sensors that automatically switch off appliances when not needed. Buildings contribute close to 15 per cent of Singapore’s national emissions — the high fraction resulting from the almost complete urbanisation of the island-state.
As part of its efforts to reach net-zero emissions around 2050, the government wants 80 per cent of buildings in Singapore – both old and new – to adopt energy efficiency measures by 2030, up from 50 per cent today.
There is growing awareness among businesses that greening their offices makes economic and environmental sense. The Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Incentive for Existing Buildings – a $100 million fund started to co-sponsor the adoption of energy-efficient technologies in existing buildings – has been fully committed, as has a separate $50 million fund which does the same for small and medium enterprises.
This suggests that more landlords in Singapore understand that the initial outlays of such green investments may be high, but returns in the long run justify the cost, given the changes in expectations of workplace experience, energy efficiency and sustainability in post-pandemic times.
