Your exterior climate can directly affect the interior climate of your house, from the air and ground temperature and the amount of sun that enters via your windows to air leaks around your doors and windows.

But did you know you could adjust your landscaping outside of your home to regulate the temperature and increase the comfort inside your home? This is called smart landscaping, and it could also boost your home’s energy efficiency.

What Long Island Homeowners Need to Know

The energy-saving landscaping techniques depend on where you live, of course, and Long Island falls into the temperate zone, according to energy.gov. With that in mind, here are a few ways you can make your house more energy efficient and reduce your heating and cooling costs through smart landscaping.

Smart Landscaping Tips

• Sun
  Capitalize on its warming effects in the winter and don’t plant trees and shrubs on the south side of your home. Make sure any existing trees aren’t deciduous (leafy in the summer and bare in the winter) and are a distance away from your home that’s at least twice their mature height to they don’t block sunlight.
• Shade
  Cool your house in the summer by planting deciduous trees that can grow at least 10 feet tall on the east and especially the west side of your home.
• Wind Breaks
  Plant trees and shrubs on the north and northwest side of your home to deflect winter winds.
• Natural Insulation
  Plant shrubs, bushes, and vines in any vacant spaces along the perimeter of your home to insulate your home in winter and summer months. Make sure they are at least one foot away from your home.
• Wind Power
  Direct summer breezes toward your home via strategic placement of trees on your property.
• Water Conservation
  Aerate your soil and use mulch to keep plant roots cool in the summer. Use low-water-using turf grass and organize it in continuous patterns to decrease water usage on it. Organize plants in groups with similar watering needs.

These smart landscaping and energy-efficient tips can lead to significant cost savings. According to energy.gov, a well-designed landscape saves enough energy to pay for itself in less than eight years. In addition, carefully positioned trees can save up to 25 percent of the energy a typical household uses!

Get A Home Energy Audit

In addition to smart landscaping, a home energy audit, also known as a home energy assessment, will reveal how much energy your home consumes and show you problems that may, when corrected, save you a good amount of cash over time.

Contact Tragar Home Services To Start Saving

Contact Tragar Home Services, your Long Island green energy company, today to learn more about how we can help you get started with an energy audit. Our green energy experts can answer any questions, or discuss more energy-saving tips, the installation of new heating equipment, oil-to-gas conversion, Bioheat®, radiant heating, heat pumps, and water heaters.

And don’t forget to ask about our no-obligation, free estimate for heating, hot water, and air conditioning equipment upgrades.