1. Strategically Plant Trees
Image courtesy of Lee Gray Landscape Design, via @leegray_landscapedesign
As summer approaches, you may be bracing yourself for an incoming AC bill. As the sun beats down on your home, this bill rises as you turn the AC up in an effort to keep cool. One way to limit the hot sun from baking your home is strategically planting trees that can offer your home some shade.
Deciduous trees are best, as they will provide shade to your home’s windows and walls over the summer, but will let heat in in the winter, since deciduous trees lose their leaves come fall. Plant trees in order to shade south- or west-facing windows.
Trees can also be helpful around your outdoor living spaces as well, as the shade can significantly lower the temperature over the summer when you’d like to lounge on your front porch or dine al fresco on the patio out back.
2. Create Shade
Image courtesy of Environmental Design Studio, courtesy of @edstudiola
In addition to strategically planting trees, creating shade with shrubs and bushes can be helpful too, namely around your AC unit. When the sun hits the unit, it in turn has to work harder and use more energy to stay cool. One way to alleviate this is to keep your AC unit in the shade. If a nearby tree doesn’t offer shade for the unit, consider planting low growing bushes or shrubs within a few feet of the condenser to keep the unit cool. Just be sure not to plant them too close.
3. Insulate Your Home With Vines
Image courtesy of Spitzmiller & Norris Inc. via @robertdnorris
Vine covered walls are for more than just aesthetics—they can actually insulate your home and offer protection against harsh winter winds, as well as keep your home cool over the summer. Vines like English Ivy can grow directly on masonry, or you can opt for growing vines on a trellis. Planting vines on your home’s south or west-facing wall will shield the sun and lower your home’s indoor temperature over the summer and act as a windbreak in the winter.
4. Conserve Water
Image courtesy of Lee Gray Landscape Design, via @leegray_landscapedesign
Whether you have a simple lawn or a lush front yard full of plants. they all need to be watered. The amount of water you use may not affect your electricity bill, depending on whether your water comes from a well or from the municipal water supply, but conserving water is always a good idea for both your wallet and the planet. There are a few ways to conserve water, including opting for mulch and installing a drip irrigation system.
Mulch in a garden will help the soil beneath it retain moisture, which means the more mulch you use, the less water you’ll need. Watering your yard via a sprinkler or garden hose may be convenient, but can lead to waste, due to evaporation and erosion. Drip irrigation is a better option when it comes to conserving water, since it’s a system of plastic tubing that accurately drips water at the plant’s root zone. A drip irrigation system keeps the soil’s moisture level ideal without over watering, saving this precious natural resource.
5. Try Xeriscaping
Image courtesy of Landscape Lighting Pro of Utah, via @landscapelightingpro
Another way to conserve water is to try xeriscape landscape design, or simply, designing with drought tolerant plants that require very little water. You won’t find high maintenance plants in a xeriscape. Instead, xeriscaping utilizes mulch, gravel and sand as well as native plants that need very little water, or as much as the natural climate supplies.
Xeriscaping has been embraced in many of the dryer parts of the country, including Colorado, Arizona and California. Cacti are incredibly popular xeriscaping plants, as well as herbs and spices like sage, oregano and even lavender.
6. Invest in Solar Powered Lighting
Image courtesy of Landscape Lighting Pro of Utah, via @landscapelightingpro
Instead of relying on outdoor lighting that needs to be plugged into a power source, consider investing in solar powered lighting. This is a fantastic option if you live somewhere sunny, as solar powered lights capture the energy from the sun’s rays and turn it into electricity. Relying on light that doesn’t require a power source will save your electricity.
Since solar powered lights rely on the sun, however, you’ll want to be sure your lights are placed in a spot that doesn’t get much shade so they can charge during the day. It’s also important to keep in mind that the lights may not shine as bright on a cloudy or overcast day.
Read more here: Click Here
