Although the temperatures haven’t risen too much since the start of spring in Centre County, before you know it the sun will be beaming through your home’s windows and your air conditioner will be working at full blast if it gets hot enough.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, two-thirds of households in America have air conditioners and each year homeowners nation-wide spend more than $11 billion collectively to air condition their homes.
If you’re looking to cut down on how much you spend running the cold air-blasting machine in your house, consider doing a little work outside to help solve the problem.
Jon Chu, communication specialist with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, suggests placing trees, shrubs and other plants strategically around your house to “reduce heat radiation and cool the air before it reaches your home’s walls and windows.”
The shading from trees placed near windows alone, the DOE said on its website, can reduce surrounding air temperatures by as much as nine degrees, which can easily affect air temperatures inside your house.
The first step in a project like this is to figure out the size, shape and location of the shadow that your shading device will cast. This will allow you to make your landscaping efforts more effective for home energy reduction.
Then, decide what type of shading you need. Trees come in a variety of sizes, densities and shapes, so finding what you need based on the climate you live in shouldn’t be a problem.
To reduce the amount of sunlight that enters through your windows in the summer and still allow sun-generated heat to penetrate the home in the winter, the DOE says to use deciduous trees. These trees lose their leaves seasonally, which will shade your home in the summer while still allowing sunlight through in the summer.
The DOE also recommends planting any trees far enough away from your house so its roots do not damage the foundation and so branches will not hit the siding or roof.
If you live in a particularly sunny or windy region and want to eliminate the exposure of those elements to your home year-round, the DOE says dense evergreen trees or shrubs will do the job.
Leave room between the shrubs and your home especially if you live in a humid or particularly wet climate. If your home is properly landscaped, the DOE says, winds should flow around your home evenly keeping the area relatively dry.
For more information on how landscaping can help you become more energy efficient and save money, visit the U.S. department of energy’s website at energy.gov.
