MENUHow you plan your landscape can actually reduce your utility bill. Follow the tips below when planning spring planting and let Mother Nature help you save energy. Strategic placement of trees and shrubs can save you a substantial amount year round.
If you plant conifers like spruce and pine to the north and west of your home, they can help block, or more accurately deflect, cold winter winds, since north and west are the directions of our prevailing winds. For maximum savings, plant evergreens a distance from the house. They will then deflect the wind, sending it up and over the roof, rather than just trying to stop the wind. It’s the same concept as the airfoils you see on the roofs of tractor-trailer cabs. They deflect air over the trailer, which is higher than the cab.Planting deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves) to the south and east of the house works in your favor year round. In the winter, sunlight can reach your house through the barren branches and provide some warmth. In summer, when the sun is hotter, the trees’ leaves can block the rays and help to keep it cool.Landscaping is a blend of science and art. The trees’ biology, the physics affecting heat and wind flow and aesthetics all have to be considered. You won’t be happy if the evergreen and deciduous trees don’t balance each other visually and the design makes your yard look off kilter. And, the trees won’t be happy if you don’t plant the right tree in the right place.If you want the energy saving results but don’t want to balance all the design elements with scientific reality, one of our professional designers will be happy to work with you to assure that all criteria are met. Starting the process now, in winter, can result in early spring installation, so you can begin enjoying your new landscape soon after winter departs.
