Do you wish your cooling costs were lower every time the weather gets hot? Do you dream of grass that isn’t so hard to keep green? Planting new trees in your yard may just be the answer. Shade trees impact your expenses for the better and cool the land, creating a comfortable home.
Learn about how trees and other landscaping play a role in your property and which trees offer enough shade to get the job done.
1. Landscaping Cools Your Home Without Electricity
Planting the right trees in certain areas of your yard is an effective way to shield your home from the unrelenting summer sunshine. They’re a one-time upgrade that keeps your home, yard, and family cool for decades.
In addition to their shade, trees release water vapor from their leaves through transpiration. This also cools the area around your home as it absorbs the heat in the air.
While cooling your home with an HVAC system is the primary way to achieve climate control, adding trees and foliage takes the pressure off of your electricity bill. If you’re looking to harness the power of nature in your home, consider upgrading to a geothermal heating and cooling system. These systems use the heat of the Earth to manage the temperature of your household.
2. Mature Shade Trees Increase Your Property Value
Even if your current home may not be your forever home, there are prospective homebuyers who would swoon at the chance to move into a well-established landscape.
Planting shade trees now adds serious value to your property in the future. This growing asset shows off your land by making your yard more attractive in the spring, summer, and fall, which are peak home-buying times.
If you plan to move in the future, knowing how shade trees influence your expenses and well-being is a tool to being an informed homebuyer.
3. Children Thrive Where There Are Trees
If kids are a part of your life, planting shade trees gives them a place to climb, swing, collect what falls, and lie underneath to relax. Trees also provide a place for people to gather without harsh sunlight burning their skin. Coming together for picnics and cookouts enriches the lives of children and connects them to their family and local community.
Do you aim to source the safest products possible for your children? This ideology extends to your home HVAC system, too. Check out RSC Heating and Cooling’s green products to see if any are a good fit for your family.
4. Planting Trees Increases the Health of Your Yard
A yard full of trees, shrubs, and ground cover plants boosts the resilience of your land.
- They improve the quality of the soil, allowing your landscape to flourish.
- They protect the ground (and your home’s foundation) from erosion in severe weather.
- They maintain the soil’s moisture (hello, green grass) by slowing down its evaporation.
5. Trees Contribute to the Environment
Not only do shade trees benefit your home, land, and the people living there, but they also use the carbon dioxide we exhale and replace it with fresh oxygen for us to breathe.
Breathing in clean air means healthier people. And in the long term, less carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere keeps the Earth cooler. In addition to cooling the Earth by displacing CO2, the more trees that are on the planet shading the land, the cooler the Earth becomes, too.
The roots of trees are just as important as the shade. They stabilize the land by giving the soil structure. Helping to prevent the ground from washing away in severe rainstorms, the root systems of trees control soil erosion and maintain the integrity of the terrain.
Best Practices for Shading and Cooling Your Home with Plants
- Track the path of sunlight over your home throughout the day. Where do you want your trees to cast their shadows? Taking the time to record this natural rhythm is crucial for planting your trees in an area that will make the biggest impact.
- It’s most common to shade your yard from east to west because it matches the path of the sun as it rises and sets. That’s not always helpful, though, if your home faces a different direction. Be conscious of the way your home faces the sun, and plan accordingly.
- Spread the canopy around your home instead of planting them all next to each other.
- Block your roof and windows from the sun with shade. These are the most vulnerable places of your home to the heat. Most of the heat that affects your home is absorbed through these areas.
- Don’t forget to shade the ground itself. Surround your home with shrubs and ground cover plants to absorb the sunshine, cool your yard, and retain moisture (which ultimately acts like a natural ground A/C and decreases the load on your HVAC system).
What Trees Should You Plant?
Some of the most popular shade trees that we see in south-central Pennsylvania include:
- Royal Empress – This tree is among the fastest growing out there and also very beautiful in the spring. Maturing at a rate of 15 feet per year, this is the tree to plant if you don’t want to wait for the effect of a full flowering canopy.
- Weeping Willow – In their younger days these trees can shoot up 6 feet in one year. Their growth rate slows as they reach maturity and are a very low maintenance tree that provide a lot of shade in just a few years.
- American Sycamore – These trees are great for a yard that allows some space to grow. Growing to a height of 100 feet and stretching out as far as 80 feet they command a presence and offer an immense amount of shade. You’ll see it get 3-6 feet taller each year, eventually taking a couple of decades to reach maturity.
- Tulip Poplars – A fast growing shade tree that’s perfect for both the front and back yard. They grow at a rate of 2-3 feet per year, scaling the height of your home in a decade or less.
- American Red Maple – Just like the Tulip Poplar, this tree grows at a rate of 2-3 feet per year. Showing off its red flowers in the spring and crimson leaves in the fall, this is one of the most colorful shade trees suited for residential land. It can fit in any part of your yard offering versatility to your landscape.
- Northern Red Oak – These giants are perfect for acidic soil. Rising to over 100 feet sometimes, the broad branches create a great place for kids to play or swing. Their rate of growth is still considered fast at 2 feet per year.
- ‘Green Vase’ Zelkova – This tree is perfect for along the sides, or front yard of smaller properties. Its shape resembles a vase, pushing most of its foliage to the top. It grows at a moderate speed and can mature to 60 feet tall.
- Eastern White Pine – Unlike the others on this list, this evergreen tree will keep your property shaded all year long. Growing at a fair rate, you’ll see this conifer rise 2-3 feet per year.
Ground Cover Plants for Heat Absorption
Plant these around your trees, yard, and home to absorb the heat around your home and keep your property cooler:
- Pachysandra (pachysandra terminalis)
- Sweet Woodruff (Gallium odorata)
- Creeping Phlox (Phlox sublate)
- Hosta’s (Plantain lilies)
There are many natural, cost-free ways to help keep your home cool and comfortable. If you are looking for other ways to improve the air quality in your home, read up on 5 ways for you to have cleaner air in your home.
If you have any questions about how you can help your struggling HVAC unit, feel free to give us a call!
