Energy Efficient Landscape Tricks

We often think of ways to save money on our heating and cooling inside our home.  However, you can also save money by making changes outside of the home.  For example, here is a shocking fact: On average, a well-designed landscape saves enough energy to pay for itself in less than 8 years (Energy.gov) Wow, right?  It’s true, making some changes to your home’s landscaping can really increase its energy efficiency.  Since it is summer, we are going to focus on how we can save money through landscaping right now.

According to Energy.gov, “a well-planned landscape can reduce and unshaded home’s air conditioning costs by 15-50 percent.”  Since shading your home can be such a big help, here a few shading tips from Energy.gov:

• Deciduous Trees (trees whose leaves falls off during the winter) provide valuable shade during the summer, and they also allow sunlight to come into the home during the winter.
•  These trees should be planted on the southern side of your home.
• If you plant a 6-8 foot one close to your home, it will actually start shading the windows during the first year.
• Evergreen Trees (trees that stay green all year) will give your home shade all the time.

Learn more tips at Energy Saver 101 Infographic: Landscaping.

Questions? Contact FLAME!  Happy planting!