![]() Training hardy vines to grow on vertical trellises along your home’s exterior also helps deflect the sun and prevent the walls of your home from absorbing heat. Plant shorter trees or taller shrubs along the sides of your home to deflect the afternoon sun away, and take advantage of the cooling effect they can have on the ground around your home. Ensure you're providing your new tree with the water it needs as it grows, and when it's first planted and is working to establish its root system. When you plant it, make sure to take into account the size it will be at full maturity, and the amount of space needed to develop a healthy root system. Look for trees that produce a dense canopy with multi-directional branches and light-colored, smooth leaves. A fast-growing tree may offer shade faster but is likely to be less hardy than a slow-growing counterpart. Shading your property with shade trees and shrubs can slow that exchange of hot air for cool by cooling outdoor surfaces and reducing the rate at which they absorb heat.Ī tree’s growth rate, and the shape and density of its canopy, determine its shade value and potential energy savings. ![]() Walls, windows, roofs and glass doors all absorb the sun’s radiant heat and bring in hot outdoor temperatures through conduction or infiltration. Beat the Heat BuildupĮnergy-efficient landscaping requires a little bit of basic knowledge about how heat moves through your home. In order to limit water demands, you may choose to incorporate these items into an area that was originally a large traditional lawn-and instead opt for a limited turf area (smaller lawn). ![]() Other softscape features like shrubs, vines, groundcovers and trees can also help cool things down and reduce the load on your air conditioner. Real turf/grass, meanwhile, helps cool the area as it releases water into the atmosphere through evaporation. Preparing an area for artificial turf requires excavation and the addition of added base materials and soil compaction, which can damage and inhibit the healthy root growth of plants that are in your yard. In fact, it often becomes dangerously hot to bare feet if exposed to direct sunlight - making it a poor choice for patios and play areas and something for pets to avoid as well! However, it also absorbs heat and will increase the temperature in the immediate area. We also recommend incorporating fifty percent shade over the top of your rock ground cover by planting heat-tolerant trees, shrubs, groundcovers and other types of plants.Īrtificial turf is another popular option for reducing landscape water use and can make a good alternative in small areas like parking lots or street-side beds. If you intend to use rocks as ground cover, avoid placing them next to your house on the south or west side to avoid excess heat from being released into the home. This is especially true for non-native plants not adapted to Arizona’s hot, desert conditions. If you do have organic softscape features ( plants), the extra heat released from the rocks increases plant respiration rates, meaning a plant could use food faster than it could make it. These landscaping features can actually increase the temperature of an area – absorbing heat from the sun and releasing it into the surrounding areas both day and night. However, they can actually increase the temperature surrounding your home and even lead to higher air conditioning bills. It can be tempting to cut down on your water bill by landscaping entirely with hardscape features like boulders, crushed rock, rock mulch, and artificial turf. Hardscaped Landscaping Is Hotter Than You Think Smart landscaping choices can help keep you cool both inside and out. ![]() Posted on: Sunday, JWhy It's Time To Let The Landscaping Rocks RollĪlmost year round, but especially during the summer, we’re looking for ways to keep our homes and yards more comfortable without breaking the bank on air conditioning and water bills. Be Inspired Blog - Arizona Why Rockscapes Aren't All They're Cracked Up To Be ![]()
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