Whether you’re in Olmstead Falls or Elyria, your home comfort system undoubtedly works overtime with hot, humid summers and long, freezing winters. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating and cooling a home accounts for 50-70 percent of the energy used. But trees and low shrubs placed at strategic locations around your home can insulate your home and lighten the load on your utility bills as well.
Consider the sun’s path around your home during both winter and summer. Allow for the climate in the greater Cleveland area, but don’t ignore your home’s individual microclimate: is your home located on a sunny slope? Are you close to a body of water? A house in Lorain might be much more humid in the summer and cooler in the winter than a home in North Ridgeville because of its proximity to Lake Erie. Plants should:
- Act as shade from the summer sun but maximize the winter sun’s heat absorption.
- Deflect winter winds away from but channel summer breezes toward your home.
- Insulate windows and entryways from heat loss and gain.
Planting a dense series of evergreen trees and shrubs along the north and west walls of your home will minimize the effect of winter winds on your home. Homes with windbreaks have been recorded as having up to 23 percent energy savings by the Agriculture Program at Texas A&M University. To protect the west wall of your home from the summer’s hot afternoon sun, plant a tree up to 25 feet from that wall on a line between the sun’s position from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Design a courtyard or build a baffle fence to protect windows and doors from heat loss and gain.
Want to know more about creating a landscape that will insulate your home? Contact us at Geisel Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. Our experienced professionals will be happy to advise you on all your home comfort system needs.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about how landscaping can help insulate your home and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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