Energy savings: how to reduce the consumption of housing through the greenery outside

Appropriate design gardens can help us save energy both in Summer and in Winter, with benefits for all.

At a time of global economic crisis like this, the issue of energy savings is on the agenda. More and more the talk is focusing around the energy savings made possible by the landscape.

Although it is not possible to control temperature, wind and other natural elements, it seems, in fact, that certain precautions in landscape design can help to change the climate around our homes bringing significant savings both in Summer and in Winter.

Placing trees, shrubs, vines and other structures properly, you can reduce the energy required to keep homes comfortable all year round, as well as help give added value and interest to any home.

A recent study has estimated that very accurate, thanks to our gardens, you can reduce winter heating costs by up to 15%, while the cost of air conditioning in Summer can be reduced by as much as 50%.

The role of vegetation in conserving energy varies with the different microclimates. In colder areas, where they are used to the enormous amount of energy for heating in winter, the control of air infiltration is the most important thing. In warmer areas, however, is given greater care in the use of shade to control the conduction of heat and reduce the need for air conditioning.

There are three main applications in the design of the garden that have been proven to save you a lot of energy: the shade trees, windbreaks and hedges or plants placed around the perimeter walls.

Trees are particularly useful in the Summer. Shading the roof of the afternoon sun with a large tree may lead to a reduction of the temperature inside the home of more than 5-6 ° C.

Of course, the deciduous trees are the most suitable because after shade the house during the summer, in autumn shed their leaves allowing sunlight to filter through.

In addition to the roof area, the plants can protect walls from heat and cold. In this regard, the vines, shrubs and small trees can be grown on trellises. The foliage insulates the wall from the heat of the summer sun and protect you from cold winter winds.

The windbreak have the purpose of hindering and direct the flow of wind. In addition to traditional windbreaks can be used, shrubs close to the walls of the house for winter protection.

Finally, the hedges. They allow a saving of over 23% in heating costs due to the protection they offer housing to winter winds and air infiltration.

You just have to rely on well-stocked nursery of plants of all kinds to adopt simple and natural solutions to protect our house from the cold and heat, contributing, thus, not only energy saving, but also to the improvement of our cities with estetistico more green areas.

 

13/05/2009

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Translated via software

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Source:

Italian version of CercaGeometra.it