Landscaping Your Yard Could Mean Savings with Your HVAC System

Passive solar methods are ideal energy solutions that can help cool and heat your home in South Florida, and that includes your landscaping. You can put up solar cells to capture some of that sun’s energy and convert it to electricity, but you can also use trees to shade your home during the summer to cool it naturally. Landscaping your yard can help save money by reducing the energy demands on the home and blocking yard debris that can clog equipment and make it operate less efficiently.

Some Natural Solar Principles

A house is a collection of different temperature zones. Rooms that are north-facing may be cooler than those that are south-facing, and rooms on second floors are almost always warmer than the first floor. To reduce the energy demands in the house and make your HVAC more efficient, grow large bushes and trees to shade the south- and west-facing portions of the house that have more heat gain than other sides. South-facing windows can be shaded with awnings and/or arbored trellises to keep the sharp angle of the sun out in the summer. North-facing rooms may be ideal for lounging in during the summer since they are the coolest. Trees and vines will drop their leaves in time for winter, when you actually want to absorb more sunlight in a passive manner.

Keep Plants Away Fom the Base of Your Home

Not only will plant roots grow through your home systems, they can contribute to the home’s humidity. If you’re outside watering them, that water is soaking into the base of the home and entering your basement, and will make your HVAC system work harder to cool the house. You can use a dehumidifier to help reduce moisture in the home, but it also helps to just avoid planting vegetation too close to the house. Trees and shrubs can impede airflow to your A/C or heat pump’s outside unit, and fill storm gutters with debris, if they are growing near the house.

Contact NisAir Air Conditioning and Heating to get the most out of your HVAC system, by using simple household tips that can reduce energy demands in your South Florida home during the hot summer months.