Who Knew Home
Landscaping For Energy Conservation Had
This Effect?
If you have been thinking about how you
would like to cut your home energy
costs, you might want to take a second
look at your home landscaping. This is
an area you may not have even thought
of. Did you know energy-efficient home
landscaping can reduce your household's
energy consumption for heating and
cooling by as much as 25 percent.!
That's staggering, isn't it? 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. It is not
surprising then that more homeowners
than ever are implementing
energy-conserving home landscaping ideas
on their property. So where can we begin
with this exciting new landscaping
adventure? I hope the following
information will be of help to you.
Develop 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. Things like
the property's microclimate, house
location, 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 location
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.
Landscape 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) provide 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. Would you think of
shading your air-conditioner through
home landscaping because that 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.
Landscaspe 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.
I hope this article has been of help to
you in creating landscaping for energy
conservation. Reducing my household
energy consumption by a possible 25% has
motivated me to start looking around my
yard.
About the Author:
Sintilia Miecevole at
http://www.landscapinggi.com
provides information and resources from
landscaping, garden design and
landscaping ideas to landscaping tips
and more. Be sure to visit http://www.landscapinggi.com
for further information.
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