Energy-Efficient Landscaping Options

One often overlooked way to save money is to reduce your energy bills with appropriate landscaping. For more info about landscaping, visit www.sandiegoartificiallawns.com. A combination of landscaping and plants can protect against wind and sun. Here are some tips for landscaping that protects against heat and wind.

Plants are a good way to shade your home from the most intense heat. When you do this, you need to be careful of how close to the house you plant. This includes root growth that can obstruct or break underground pipes and also damage caused by falling limbs. In warm areas of the northern hemisphere, trees should be planted on the south side. Leafy trees with a high canopy (more branching and leaves at the top of the tree) are the best choice. You can plant smaller, denser trees to the west.

Climbing vines can also work if you don't have the space for trees. If you set them up with a space between them and the house, they'll create a shaded area where cool breeze will help lower the temperature of the house, as well. Shrubs can also help keep your house cool by providing shade and by creating still air space around your home. This makes it a good choice for areas that experience intense heat and cold. Make sure to leave some space between the shrubs and the walls to allow for some airflow to prevent the promotion of mildew and rot in wetter weather.

Wind can be a problem for colder areas, effectively reducing the temperature outside and making it harder to keep the inside warm. Follow the link for more information on Synthetic Lawns. Your landscaping design to combat wind can include berms or walls. You can use plants as well, in addition to these hardscape elements or in place of them. Evergreen shrubs and trees are great for this purpose as their density and short stature block wind near the ground, which is the best place to do so. For the best results, use a mix of tall and short plants to block the most wind. Trees and shrubs planted alternately in a row or one behind the other can create a good barrier.

Windbreak landscaping is based around the mature height of the plants you use. This means that they won't reach their full efficiency until they've grown, so be prepared for a less effective windbreak in the first couple years. You want to plant your windbreak somewhere between two and five times the fully-grown height of the plants away from your home, toward the north or northwest.

Different areas have very different needs when it comes to energy efficiency. Moist, humid climates require a different plan than arid ones, for example. Learn more about Artificial Grass San Diego. A local landscaper should be able to tell you which climate type you live in and which techniques will work best for you.