Andrea - Plant-Powered Air Purifier
Plants are nature's natural air filtration system for the earth and now with the use of technology, a plant's filtering efficiency can be vastly accelerated to its full potential inside the cool new Andrea - Plant-Powered Living Air Purifier.
This innovative planter/air purifier has a whisper-quiet fan that draws polluted indoor air into a clear dome that houses an ordinary houseplant, then down through a natural multi-stage system of leaves, roots, soil and water, before finally being recirculated back out into the room. This process improves a plant's filtration ability to efficiently remove airborne toxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde, rapidly from the air, using low power consumption. The result is more purified air than an ordinary houseplant could produce on its own, all inside a cool, futuristic pod planter. Any plant can be used, but the Peace Lily, Madagascar Dragon Tree, Spider Plant, and Aloe are the most effective.
The Andrea was designed by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur in collaboration with David Edwards of Harvard University, based on actual NASA research. If it actually works as well as they say, I think it's a cool idea and I love the modern design. However, I hope in future models that they can implement solar-powered fans, since the plant is going to need sunlight anyways. It's an interesting start and best of all, you'll never need to replace any expensive air filters again!