Summer is the time when you want your yard and the area around your home to look its best. You want to keep your lawn trimmed and watered when you can and make sure things are green. You also want trees, shrubbery and other vegetation looking neat and orderly. But many people don’t realize that the landscaping you do outside of your home can have a big impact on what goes on inside your home. Changing your landscaping can actually lower your energy bill. Tragar Energy is your Long Island green energy company and we want you to know how smart landscaping can also be smart for your wallet.
How Shade Saves You Energy
According to the US Department of Energy, proper landscaping can reduce up to 25 percent of the energy a typical household uses. The key to energy efficient landscaping is shade. Heat from the sun is absorbed through your home’s windows and roofs, which increase cooling costs. Shade and evapotranspiration, the process by which plants move and release water vapor, can have a big impact on reducing the heat absorbed into your homes. In fact, it can drop surrounding temperatures by as much as 6 degrees.
In order to maximize the impact that trees have on your living space, it’s important to know how the size, shape and location of the shadows that will be cast on your home. For summer shade, use deciduous trees, which are trees that lose their leaves. You’ll want the type of tree with high spreading crowns and it’s recommended that you plant them on the south side of your home for peak effectiveness. Deciduous trees won’t block heat from entering your home during the winter, because the leaves fall off. You don’t want to plant a tree that’s too small, but you also need to recognize that they continue to grow. The Energy Department recommends you plant a tree that’s 6 to 8 feet tall in the first year.
Windbreaks Add Energy Efficiency
Planting trees for shade isn’t the only way that proper landscaping can affect energy efficiency inside your home. Trees and shrubs can also be used to reduce heating costs through the use of windbreaks. Windbreaks are plants or objects used to protect an area from wind damage.
The Energy Department says that using windbreaks will lower wind chills in the area of your home. The most common type of windbreaks are dense evergreen trees planted north or northwest of your house. The distance between your home and the windbreak should be two to five times the height of the mature tree. Trees, shrubs, bushes and vines can also be used to create dead air spaces that will insulate your home from the elements.
Tragar Will Help You Save Energy and Money
At Tragar, we’re committed to helping you find ways to keep your home energy efficient. Whether it’s changing your landscape to promote maximum efficiency, installing energy saving devices, or giving homeowners an energy audit, we will gladly help you find ways to lower your energy bill. As always, we’ll also offer you superior products and services for all of your heating and cooling needs.
For more information, contact Tragar.
