When it comes to landscaping their homes, few people think about their HVAC systems. That’s a shame, because the right plants, carefully placed in relation to the air conditioner’s outdoor component, can help your system run more efficiently.
Not only can strategically placing well-chosen plants improve efficiency, but a well-planned landscaping scheme can also protect your system. Let’s take a look at how plants and your HVAC system can cooperate.
What Role Do Shade Trees Play in Energy Efficiency?
You already know that shade trees keep your home cooler, just as you do when you stand under a shady tree to escape the heat. However, you may not be aware of how this works in the interior of a home.
It’s a proven fact that planting trees with shading canopies that deflect the sun will keep your home from overheating as much as homes without them. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a strategically planned landscape can cut air conditioning costs by 15 to 50 percent.
But that isn’t all that trees can do. Trees create a cool aura around the house in addition to blocking the sun from heating the roof. Trees absorb moisture from the ground, which passes through their leaves and evaporates slowly, cooling the surrounding air. The air near the trees is usually six degrees or so cooler than the air further away. As you can see, planting trees around your home can help to create a cool zone.
Some homeowners also plant smaller shade trees to provide shade for the condenser (your air conditioner’s outdoor component). While you don’t want leaves and twigs falling into the unit and interfering with its operation, some shade will help keep the condenser cooler as it works hard on hot days.
Don’t forget about the shrubbery. Shrubs can help keep sun from penetrating the home through windows, as long as they’re kept trimmed below the roof line.
Here are some things to think about when choosing shade trees for your home.
- Avoid trees that grow quickly, such as silver maples, mulberries, chinaberries, and poplars. While fast-growing trees provide more shade, they are usually brittle and break easily.
- Cottonwood and silver maple both require a lot of water, so may be a little too high maintenance for your liking.
- Trees that shed should be avoided. Cottonwood fibers, for example, may clog the condenser and prevent your air conditioner from properly exhausting warm air. Mulberries may drop fruit through the protective grating over the condenser, so keep that in mind.
- Coniferous trees should be avoided. Coniferous trees keep their leaves throughout the year, while deciduous trees lose their leaves in the fall. In the winter, when it’s colder, you’ll want the leaves gone so that sunlight can reach the house.
It’s also crucial to consider how big the trees will get. In terms of how close we plant to the house or in proximity to each other, most of us have made the mistake of underestimating the mature size of plants.
Selecting the Best Plants
It’s critical that you select the appropriate plants and shrubs for your landscape too. If you’re unfamiliar with these topics, you can seek advice from horticultural experts at your local extension office, a botanical garden, or a reputable plant nursery.
Native plants are frequently the best option. They usually do better than exotic species, with fewer disease and pest problems. Choose drought-tolerant plants whenever possible to keep your water bill in check.
When it comes to water, you’ll need to water your new plants frequently until they’re established, but after a couple of years, you can cut back as the roots grow deeper and are able to find moisture in the water table.
Choosing a Location for Trees or Shrubs
You’ll need to decide where to plant your trees and shrubs once you’ve made the decision about which ones to use in your landscape. Here are some important guidelines to follow:
- Plants should not be planted too close to the house or the condenser. Trees planted too close to a house can cause roof problems. You’ll need to keep tree limbs trimmed back if they start touching the roof.
- Tree roots planted too close to the house may also be a problem, weakening the foundation or growing into and clogging the plumbing pipes. Maintaining a distance of 10 to 20 feet between the tree and the home’s exterior is a good rule of thumb.
- Shrubs can obviously be planted closer to the house, but make sure you plant them so you can trim them in the space between the shrubs and the house. Because you’ll need to clean windows and the HVAC technician will need access to the unit, you should avoid planting shrubs with thorns or prickly leaves against walls or around the condenser.
- Make sure there’s at least a 2-foot gap between the shrubs and the condenser when you’re planting shade for it. Air flow should not be obstructed by plants.
Miscellaneous Points to Think About
You should plan for garden structures such as walls, tool sheds, entertainment areas, furniture, and the like in addition to plants. It’s best to keep these structures as far away from the HVAC system as possible to avoid obstructing air flow.
Consider erecting a trellis or arbor where you can grow vines or climbing roses to provide shade or conceal the condenser. These plants will allow air to flow while also concealing the condenser in an attractive way.
If you’re into xeriscaping (landscape design that uses little water or irrigation), you may have planned to remove the grass and replace it with plastic weed barriers covered in gravel or pebbles. If you have pebble or stone-strewn landscape areas near the condenser, hand-weed or cut any grass that grows there. Using a weed whacker can send pebbles into the condenser, potentially causing damage. If grass grows close to the condenser, it should be mowed away from it during the mowing process. Grass can clog the unit, reducing airflow.
Adding trees and shrubs to your landscape in a pleasing, well-thought-out design can increase the value of your home while also increasing its efficiency by making it cooler and more comfortable. Your air conditioner will last longer as well, because the parts will not have to work as hard to reach temperature set points during the scorching summer months.
Furthermore, every plant in your garden help to reduce your carbon footprint by removing a significant amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere: as leaves breathe, they draw the gases into the plant or tree and deposit them into the ground through the roots.
So get out there and start planting; before you know it, those trees and shrubs will be enhancing your comfort and efficiency. And if it’s time to get your HVAC unit serviced for summer, so you can stay cool once you are done enjoying the great outdoors, contact us today to book an appointment now.