Plant for beauty and efficiency
During warmer weather it's time to get out in the garden.
Before you select plants to beautify your home, consider another
important benefit of good landscaping: energy efficiency.
Think about how much cooler it feels beneath the shade of
a big tree on a hot day. That tree can provide several tons
of cooling power, in air conditioning terms.
If your property
doesn't have big deciduous trees -- the kind that lose their
leaves in winter -- give serious thought to planting some.
Planted on the south and west to block the summer sun, trees
can reduce the heat pouring into your home and provide cooling.
The Department of Energy estimates that just three trees positioned
correctly around a house can cut the energy used for heating
and cooling by one-fourth.
Trees and shrubs
can also provide windbreaks, as farmers have known for years.
Rows of evergreens bordering fields were planted to keep the
wind from blowing away soil and damaging and drying out crops.
The same principle applies to diverting winds that blow directly
toward your home. Even shading your air conditioner compressor
can make a difference. Although you want to keep plants from
lying directly on or interfering with the compressor, a unit
that's shaded by a tree doesn't have to work as hard as one
that's in the direct summer sun.
To read more about
landscaping around electrical equipment, click here.
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