2. •Plan out your landscape!
•Think of the ways in which the sun and wind will effect the cooling and warming of the site.
•This thought process will guide you to make decisions on what plants to keep on your site and how to orient buildings and additional plantings.
3. Lets think about:
Using orientation, plants, and
structures to:
•Cool/warm your house
•Cool/warm the air around your house
•Cool/warm the ground near your house
How can we design our home and gardens to be:
Comfortable and productivewhile using no/low energy.
4. A well designed site
•Will protect your home from winter wind and summer sun.
•Reduce consumption of fuel, water, pesticides, and labor.
•Provide you with micro-climates that increase comfort and/or extend growing season.
5. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s best to align your home in the Eastto West direction
Place your home not in the middle of your land (as is typical) but set back to allow your food production gardens have max. solar access oriented south.
6. South-facing windows
•Should contain a large number of windows to get the greatest solar gain in winter.
•These windows should have protection from high angle summer sun with the use of shade trees/shrubs, overhangs, or vine covered trellises.
7. A deciduous tree costs as much as 1 awning
but saves your household hundreds of dollars in reduced cooling cost.
Deciduous trees, shrub, vines near your homewill:
•Shade your house from summer sun keeping it cool.
•Allow heat and light during the winter.
The most effective thing you can do to save energy is shade your house in the summer.
8. Trees/shrubs can take a while to grow. If you don’t want to wait, consider using a trellis! Use fast growing deciduous vines that can shade south facing windows or a patio areas.
9. The best vines to use: Deciduous vines thatCling or TwineVines are known for vigorous growth. They will need to be watched and cut back…sometimes.
10. If you must use an AC unit….. Did you know? …..that shading these units (even on the Northside of a home) will increase their efficiency by at least 10%?
12. Determine which direction that summer breezes come from.
Place your dense trees and shrubs PARALLEL to that direction.
Build an outdoor gathering space on the breezy side of the house.
Shade that area and it will be a heavenly place when it gets hot
13. •Add trees and other plants to your landscape. Their transpiration of plants cools air around them. •Encourage your neighborhood to plant more trees and protect the trees in public spaces.
14.
15. Reduce winter wind
•Keep areas facing south clear of shade
•Allow solar heat inside of a house using glass
•Use thermal mass structures that absorb heat inside and outside house like stone, cobb, water, steel etc…
Allow maximum southern exposure east to west
•Create wind breaks
•Don’t trap cold air-allow air to move down a slope
16.
17. Evergreen trees •Are great for blocking wind especially on the Northside of your home keeping it warmer during the winter saving you fuel& money. •Can be used to channel summer breezes. •Never plant evergreens on the south, southwest, and southeast side of your home. This would dramatically cool your house in winter. •A good rule is to distance at least twice their mature height away from your house. •To provide an effective wind block on the North side, use evergreen shrubs/small trees that stay dense at the bottom.
18.
19. The benefits are great indeed!
Water bodies:
•Modify temperature extremes
•Cool air in summer and warm air in winter
•Provide habitat for plants, animals
•Pest control since many predatory animals and insects need access to water.
•Create micro-climates to add more diversity to your landscape. Consider adding a natural pool/pond!
20. With a bit of thought and planning•You can save Energy and Money•Improve the beauty and function of your human habitat
