With the sweltering hot weather we are experiencing, now is a good time to think about and plan to save on energy bills. Not only does it help the pocketbook, but also helps to alleviate shortages of electricity and water at critical times like these since local utilities have been asking customers to turn off non-essential appliances and placing bans on lawn watering. The approaching autumn season, which normally brings plenty of moisture, is an excellent time to plant xeriscopic (pertaining to plants growing in or adapted to dry areas) trees, shrubs and perennial vines that help reduce these energy costs.
Good landscaping is an excellent method of accomplishing these goals, and there are a number of different ideas, from simple to elaborate, to effect savings. If you are building or buying a new home, by all means consider the various options, such as planting windbreaks, planting for shade, using plants for natural cooling, and creating dead air space around the home. You can also use some of these ideas in your present home to institute savings.
Here are some ideas that will help:
Divert air movement by proper placement of plants, which can increase airflow in play, patio and other outdoor living areas, thus improving summer comfort. Garden structures, such as screens and fences can influence air movement, but plants will add a cooling factor as water evaporates from moist leaves.
Planting for shade is very important, and by choosing and placing plants so they do not form a barrier when direct rays of the sun are needed for warmth in winter, but provide needed shade during hot summer months, can be helpful. Choose deciduous trees with open branching and loss of
leaves for warmth in winter.If yard space is limited and the planting of trees is not an option, then you might want to use vines instead. They do not take up much space and are especially effective on south and west walls to dispel summer heat. But you want to use either annual or deciduous perennial vines because they are either killed by frost or drop leaves during the winter so that the sun can warm the walls. Be cautious in choosing the right kind of vines because some perennial vines can be too aggressive, or else can cause wood or mortar deterioration. Instead of allowing the vines to grow directly on walls, trellises can be used, which will also allow airflow between walls and plantings.
In some locations, such as around play areas and patios, trellises are especially effective, as well as arbors, and fast growing vines will provide needed shade during hot summer months. Recently Master Gardeners visited a home where birdhouse gourds were grown to completely cover an outdoor patio, which allowed air circulation and provided an interesting conversation piece with numerous maturing gourds hanging overhead.
If your central or room air conditioner is in the sun for all day or part of the day, shrubbery, or vines planted on a trellis, to shade it is very helpful to keep the unit cooler. Be sure, however, to leave enough air space between the planting and the air conditioner so that air circulation is not blocked.
Another way to help cool or reduce heat loss is to create dead air space along walls. Foundation plantings of evergreens cut out air movement close to the house and create a layer of still air around it. This is especially effective in winter because this layer insulates and reduces heat loss caused by moving air.
To learn more about effective use of landscaping for energy savings, you can request University of Missouri Guidesheet No. G6910 from your county extension office.