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Home Landscaping for Energy Conservation
If you’re serious about cutting
your home energy costs, you might want to take a second
look at your home landscaping. You may not be aware
of it, but energy-efficient home landscaping can reduce
your household’s energy consumption for heating
and cooling by as much as 25 percent. Proper placement
of trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and hedges lets you
modify the microclimate around your home to maximize
shade during the summer and reduce wind chill during
the winter. Energy-efficient home landscaping is one
of the best investments you can make, because aside
from its potential to increase the resale value of your
property, it can generate enough savings to return your
initial investment in less than eight years. Therefore,
it is not surprising that more homeowners than ever
are implementing energy-conserving home landscaping
ideas on their property.
Developing a Home Landscaping Plan for
Energy Efficiency
There are countless home landscaping
strategies for energy conservation, but not all of them
may be appropriate for your property and climate zone.
Before you plant those evergreens in your backyard,
make an assessment of the comfort and energy shortcomings
of your current home landscaping. Factors such as the
property’s microclimate, house orientation, and
the presence of surrounding structures will influence
your energy-efficient home landscaping plan. Microclimate
is the climate immediately surrounding your home, and
along with the regional climate, it helps determine
which plants and trees will thrive and provide the best
energy-saving benefit to your home landscaping. Your
home’s orientation affects your dwelling’s
exposure to the sun, wind, and water, consequently shaping
your home landscaping needs. Nearby buildings, walls,
trees, and bodies of water can produce significant climatic
effects that would impact your home landscaping strategies.
A thorough analysis of your property’s features
enables you to devise an energy-efficient home landscaping
scheme that addresses your needs and goals.
Home Landscaping to Maximize Shade
Properly planned home landscaping can
reduce your air-conditioning costs in the summer by
providing shade from the hot morning and afternoon sun.
Deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves in winter)
give adequate shade in the summer when its leaves are
in full bloom and warm the home in winter by letting
low-angle winter sun filter through its bare branches.
Home landscaping that maximizes shade can reduce temperature
inside the home by as much as 8 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Interestingly, shading your air-conditioner through
home landscaping also increases the unit’s efficiency.
In addition, shading the ground and pavement with trees,
shrubs, and groundcover plants reduces surrounding air
temperatures. Other heat-reducing home landscaping ideas
include building a trellis for climbing vines to shade
a patio and planting a row of shrubs to shade a driveway.
Home Landscaping for Wind Protection
Home landscaping to divert the flow
of cold winds helps cut down your home heating costs
in the winter. Trees, shrubs, bushes, walls, and fences
make effective windbreaks for winter-protected home
landscaping. You can achieve adequate wind protection
through home landscaping by planting evergreen trees
and shrubs along the north and northwest areas of your
property. Windbreaks can decrease wind speed for a distance
as much as 30 times its height, although maximum wind
protection occurs at a distance of two to five times
the mature height of windbreaks. For optimal wind protection,
make sure that the foliage density on the windward side
of your property is 60 percent. A well-designed home
landscaping provides energy savings year-round. Enjoy
the warmth of the winter sun by not planting evergreens
too close to the south side of your home. Shrubs, bushes
and vines planted close to your house create dead air
spaces that insulate your home in both winter and summer.
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