Editor's note: This is the sixth in a series of 10 articles written by Bob Polomski.

WRITER:  Bob Polomski, Extension Consumer Horticulturist, Clemson University, (864) 656-2604

Create an energy-efficient home with proper landscaping

CLEMSON -- I was reading a newspaper article that listed a variety of energy-saving approaches to trimming utility bills, when two sentences jumped out at me:  "Plant a tree.  Or better yet, plant several trees."  Deciduous trees planted on the east, west, and south sides of your home can lower your cooling and heating bills.  In the summer, the trees will shade your home from the broiling sun.  In the winter their leafless canopies will allow the sun's rays to warm your home.

Using trees to conserve resources dates back to the Dust Bowl years in the Great Plains when rows of trees were planted to reduce soil erosion.  Nowadays, many of us rely on landscaping to conserve energy and lower our utility bills.  Properly positioned trees, shrubs, and vines can reduce the fuel needed to heat and cool our homes.  Depending on which study you consult, the savings in heating and cooling costs for a home may be as much as 25 to 50 percent. 

The first step in reducing heating costs is to block northwesterly winter winds.  Researchers determined that a hedgerow or screen of trees or shrubs is better than a solid barrier.  The optimum amount of reduction in both wind speed and turbulence can be achieved with a 60:40 ratio of solid and open spaces.  In simple terms, imagine a living barrier that is open enough so you can see something moving on the other side, but can't exactly see what it is.  Such windbreaks are usually comprised of evergreen shrubs and trees, but studies of deciduous shelterbelts have shown that they still retain 60% of their benefit even when leafless.

Cooling costs, in contrast, will be reduced by screening out the sun during the summer.  For this purpose locate deciduous trees on the southern side of a house where they will provide shade.  Alternatively, erect a vine-covered trellis or arbor on the south-facing side of your house to provide relief from the hot summer sun.  If you have an attractive trellis, grow deciduous or annual vines that will allow sunlight to warm your home during the winter months.  The trellised vine should be located a few feet away from your home so it won't interfere with your siding or shingles.

For more energy-and money-saving landscaping ideas that will lower your utility bills, pick up a copy of Landscape Design for Energy Efficiency (EC 706; $8.00).  This Clemson Extension publication was produced in association with the SC Energy Office and the SC Forestry Commission.  It's chock-full of easy-to-follow energy-saving ideas that will lower your heating and cooling bills.  It also includes other cost effective and innovative approaches for improving energy efficiency around your home and landscape.

Woven throughout this publication are a number of interesting and thought-provoking quotations related to energy, the environment, and conservation. 

Let me close with this bit of advice from Benjamin Franklin:  "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."  In other words, save money this winter and summer by planting shrub and trees.

Funds for this project were provided by the Urban and Community Forestry grant assistance program administered through the SC Forestry Commission and funded by the USDA Forest Service and the SC Nursery & Landscape Association.  For more information, go to  http://www.scurbanforestry.org/ and www.scnla.com.

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