With the arrival of hot weather, the same question arises: how to avoid cooking at home without leaving an air conditioner running day and night? According to observations studied by NASA, the answer could well be found… in your living room.
Every year, it’s the same scenario. From the first big heat, the apartments keep the temperature like pizza ovens. In the city, especially in old buildings or under roofs, sometimes it only takes a few days at over 30 degrees for the nights to become complicated. So we improvise as best we can: shutters closed all day, damp towel in front of the fan, cool shower before sleeping and constant battle to find a draft that doesn’t exist.
The problem is that classic solutions no longer convince as much as before. Mobile air conditioners are expensive to purchase, drive up electricity bills and take up a lot of space in apartments that are already too small. As for the fans, they sometimes just give the impression of blowing hot air from a traditional oven. Practical for reheating a pizza, a little less so for sleeping cool, especially when the extreme heat is already present in May.
For some time now, researchers and climate specialists have been looking for other ways to limit heat, particularly in large cities where concrete keeps the temperature until late at night. NASA has also studied certain natural phenomena capable of having an effect on the heat felt. Nothing magical obviously, but interesting enough to be taken seriously in several projects linked to urban development and high temperatures.
The idea is simple: some environments naturally manage to stay cooler than others during hot periods. We all notice it without really thinking about it. A street in full sun quickly becomes stifling while a greener or shady corner immediately seems more breathable. This phenomenon is notably linked to the evaporation of water in the air, which absorbs part of the heat around it. According to NASA, this mechanism even plays an important role in regulating temperature in certain very exposed areas.
And this is where the solution mentioned by several experts comes in: plants. Yes, the same plants that we sometimes buy “to look pretty” before forgetting them in a corner of the living room three weeks later. According to Craig Morley, houseplant specialist at Budget Seeds, they can act as a kind of “green air conditioning.” Through a phenomenon called transpiration, water rises through the plant and then evaporates through the leaves, which helps to slightly cool the air around it.
Certain varieties would be particularly effective for this. Sansevierias, peace lilies, bamboo palms and even aloe vera are among the plants most often recommended. And for those who don’t exactly have a green thumb, simpler options also exist, like golden pothos or chlorophytum. The idea is obviously not to transform your apartment into a tropical forest or to hope to lose ten degrees in the living room. But several plants grouped together in a room can make the atmosphere a little less heavy during hot weather.
