How to grow your own fresh air?

This blog is adapted from a TED talk by Kamal Meattle.

Kamal  Meattle is a Delhi based businessman. Some 17 years ago, he became allergic to Delhi's air. His doctors told him that his lung capacity had gone down to 70 percent, and it was killing him. With the help of IIT, TERI, and learning’s from NASA, he 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.

The three plants are Areca palm, Mother-in-Law's Tongue and Money plant.

Areca palm is a plant which removes CO2 and converts it into oxygen. We need four shoulder-high plants per person.

Mother-in-law's Tongue, which is again a very common plant, and we call it a bedroom plant, because it converts CO2 into oxygen at night. And we need six to eight waist-high plants per person.

The third plant is Money plant, and this is again a very common plant; preferably grows in hydroponics. And this particular plant removes formaldehydes and other volatile chemicals.

An experiment conducted by them in a 50,000-square-feet, 20-year-old building having to 1,200 such plants for 300 occupantsshowed 42% probability of one's blood oxygen going up by 1% if one stays indoors in this building for 10 hours, reduced incidence of eye irritation by 52%, respiratory systems by 34%, headaches by 24%, lung impairment by 12% and asthma by 9%. Also a reduction in energy requirements of the building by an outstanding 15 percent.