Save Energy Through Landscaping

You can save energy and be comfortable inside your home by strategically planting trees, shrubs and other plants for shade. Just remember to never plant tall trees or hedges where they will grow into overhead power lines.

Cooling Tips

• Plant tall trees with leaves and branches to the south of your home for maximum summertime roof shading.
• A 6- to 8-foot leafy tree planted near your home will begin shading windows within the first year.
• Plant lower trees to the west where shading is needed from afternoon sun.
• Planting shrubs, bushes and vines next to your house creates dead air spaces that insulate your home in summer. But be sure to allow at least 1 foot of space between full-grown plants and the walls of your home.

Heating Tips

• Plant dense evergreen trees and shrubs to the north and northwest of your home to protect it from wind.
• For maximum protection, plant your windbreak at a distance from your home of two-to-five times the mature height of the trees.
• Plant trees, bushes and shrubs together to block wind from ground level to the treetops.
• Planting shrubs, bushes and vines 1 foot from your walls also insulates your home in winter.