A well-placed tree or shrub can provide your home with summer shade and winter warmth, while also acting as a wind and snow break. By reducing your energy consumption with strategically placed trees and shrubs, your efforts will lead to a reduction in the production of fossil fuels that are consumed by utility companies in order to generate electricity used to heat and cool your home. While these efforts also save you some money, simply planting a tree or shrub in the right place on your property ultimately helps combat climate change.
Here are some simple tips to gain the most from strategically planting on your property:
1. Plant a medium to large growing deciduous tree (those that lose their leaves in the winter) along the south or southwest side of your property to help shade your home during peak sun hours in the summer. Shade acts as a natural air conditioner so you can reduce the amount of energy you use to cool your home, which saves you money. In order to maximize shade, however, be sure to plant trees that have tall and dense canopies such as basswood (Tilia americana), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) or sugar maple (Acer saccharum). In the winter, these same trees will lose their leaves, but generally remain sparse enough to allow sunlight to pass through their branches, which helps to naturally heat your home.
2. Plant smaller deciduous trees or large deciduous shrubs along the east, northeast, west or northwest sides of your property to provide early morning and late afternoon shade in the summertime. In the winter, after leaf drop, the sun will pass through the branches to help heat your home. The key is to plant densely branched, lower growing species such as serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), grey dogwood (Cornus racemosa) or American hazelnut (Corylus americana), as they will also act as an excellent wind barrier during summer and winter storms.
3. Plant shrubs around your air conditioner. The shade created by these shrubs will increase the energy efficiency of your air conditioner by keeping it cooler during the hot summer months. Moreover, these shrubs will also shield your air conditioner from harsh, cold winds and snow build up in the winter. To maximize on energy savings, plant dense, medium growing shrubs such as red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) or common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius). Be sure to leave some room for air flow in order to avoid clogging vents and damage to your air conditioner unit, as this could lead to increased costs.
4. Plant medium to large growing evergreen trees (those that keep their leaves in the winter) along the west, northwest and north side of your property to block drifting snow from building up around your house and to reduce cold air entry around window and door panes (especially in older homes). The protection from these trees will save you energy used to heat your home. Furthermore, because of their pyramidal shape, their year-round foliage and the extension of that foliage to the ground, hardy evergreen trees such as eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) or white spruce (Picea glauca) will also provide you with some summer shade in the mornings and afternoons when the sun is not directly overhead.
Ultimately, by strategically planting trees and shrubs on your property, you have the potential to:
- Reduce the amount you need to cool and heat your home
- Decrease your energy bills and save money
- Lower your emissions and help mitigate climate change
Now that you know all about the amazing benefits trees and shrubs can provide, why not add some to your yard? LEAF can help you pick the right trees and shrubs for the right place through our subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program. Apply today so you can start to save energy and money!
Brenna Anstett is the Residential Planting Programs Manager at LEAF.
LEAF offers a subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program for private property. The program is supported by the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of York, the City of Markham, the Town of Newmarket, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the Town of Ajax, the Township of Scugog, the City of Pickering, the City of Oshawa, the Town of Whitby, Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Trillium Foundation and GrandTrees/Canadian Trees For Life.