Green walls are one of the latest trends in interior design and with good reason. They are beautiful, healthy, and the benefits far outweigh the costs and maintenance.
If you’ve been following some of the recent building trends, you may realize that outdoor and indoor green walls are now popular. There’s more to the popularity of the walls than just a great aesthetic look. In fact, there are several benefits of having living walls on the inside or outside of your building. Learn more about those benefits and how having a green wall can help you.
1. Purify the Air
You’ve probably heard the Amazon jungle referred to as the “lungs of the earth.” That’s because the immense, dense foliage of the Amazon jungle converts carbon dioxide into oxygen. And while we all benefit from the chemical process that plants use to create oxygen, there is more that we can do to ensure that our household air is clean and oxygen-rich. Enter green walls.
One of the most significant benefits of a green wall is to improve the quality of your indoor air. Approximately 25% of carbon emissions made by human activity are absorbed by plants, and living walls contribute to that absorption. Plants on the wall filter toxins in the air and convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. In doing so, they create a healthier environment for you, your family, and your guests.
Have you ever noticed how an enclosed room or home can become stuffy? The more people and animals that you add, the less breathable the air is. During milder days, you can open a window, but that means shutting off your HVAC or running higher electric bills. An interior green wall can help offset the oxygen use of humans and pets in your home. And as an added benefit, your improved air quality means less eye irritation, fewer headaches, and reduced incidents of illness. If the wall is located inside a workplace, the employees are more productive and will take fewer sick days.
2. Decrease the Ambient Temperature
Heating and cooling a workspace can be expensive, and during severe winters and hot can take a significant chunk out of your profit. There are many things you can do to reduce these bills, from adding insulation to sealing doors and windows to replacing your HVAC system with a high-efficiency unit. But there’s another simple way to lower your energy bill: living walls. The plants absorb and reflect some sunlight, which cools down the air. As a result, you spend less money on your cooling bill.
Even an outdoor wall decreases the ambient temperature. Many cities have the heat-island effect. This is where the heat given off by machinery, vehicles, and buildings get trapped in a certain area and drive up the overall temperature. Outdoor plant walls decrease the outdoor temperature, which makes visitors more comfortable.
3. Decrease Noise
Have you ever noticed how a carpeted room tends to be quieter than one with a tile or wood floor? That’s because sound reflects off of flat, non-porous surfaces. Things like curtains and rugs can make a noisy room quieter. Plant walls have much the same effect. Sound vibrations are absorbed by the plant leaves, rather than being reflected back into the room.
A plant wall absorbs approximately 41% more noise than a traditional wall. Outdoor walls reduce noise from traffic, aircraft, and construction activities, and any other noise that you experience living in an urban center. Indoor green walls can make rooms less echoey. Whether the wall is inside or outside, it works as an affordable and artistic sound barrier.
4. More Productivity
There are many tactics that employers can attempt to improve worker morale. One of those is changing or improving the decor of the workspace. Workers tend to appreciate significant improvements to the quality of their work environment. After all, they’re spending a significant portion of their days in the same location. If your goal is to improve worker productivity, a living wall is a rapid and affordable method of increasing productivity. Employees respond positively to more greenery in the workplace.
5. Make a Building More Fire-Resistant
As you might expect, plants contain a significant amount of moisture. That moisture makes them naturally resistant to fires. This might seem counterintuitive when you consider brush fires or forest fires, but those usually occur after long dry spells. Plant walls remain lush and green all of the time. By adding a living wall to your building, you make it more fire-resistant.
6. Extend the Life of Your Wall
Your walls are exposed to sunlight, wind, rain, and extreme temperature changes. Over time, the elements destroy your wall. But a living wall protects your structure from direct damage. The life of your wall could be extended by years.
7. Give Your Building More Value
To make your building more valuable, you can make several changes. However, those changes often come at a high cost. You may need to spend thousands of dollars to get a small return.
When you install a living wall, you make your building more valuable. The natural look is coveted by many buyers. Furthermore, energy savings gives you even more value. A living wall is an investment that immediately starts paying for itself.
8. Create a Community Feel
A green wall attracts people and lightens the mood. It brings together neighborhoods and communities while decreasing aggression and vandalism. To help your building bring together your community, you should consider a green wall.
Outdoor and indoor green walls come with multiple benefits. If you’re interested in getting started, you should start doing your research and planning for your wall.
Be Part of the Green Revolution
Indoor and outdoor plant walls protect our environment. While it might not seem like one or two walls can do much to fight climate change, it can help to offset your individual or your company’s carbon footprint. Plant walls may be one of the only truly guilt-free indulgences that are left. Add a little green to your life with a beautiful plant wall.
