Landscape for Energy Savings

When planning the design of your landscaping, here are a couple of techniques to make things more energy-efficient:

1. Deflect winter winds away from buildings, and funnel summer breezes toward your home.

Properly selected and placed landscaping can provide great wind protection, which can help conserve energy while reducing heating and cooling costs considerably. 

Dense evergreen trees and shrubs planted to the north and northwest of the home are the most common type of windbreak. Place plants to be used for channeling summer breezes to the south and southwest away from the home.

2. Maximize shade in the summer and the warming effects of the sun in the winter.

Incorporating shading concepts can help reduce solar heat gain, thus reducing your cooling costs and saving energy. To block solar heat in the summer but let much of it in during the winter, use deciduous trees with high leaves and branches to the south of your home to provide maximum summer roof shading.