In hot climates, having shade around your house can provide significant amounts of passive cooling, providing a more comfortable living environment without the energy penalty. If cooling is still required, the amount of cooling will be less, reducing your costs and reducing the strain on the power supply grid during peak hot weather.
The SMUD utility company has been giving free shade trees away for many years, with the specific aim of reducing peak load demands on the power generation infrastructure. The benefits and effectiveness of this program have been well documented, with significant savings on power consumption as well as a number of other benefits such as a more desirable urban environment and better managed storm-water runoff.
Cities like Los Angeles have also embarked on greening exercises, giving away trees with the more general aim of reducing the heat island effect. The most specific benefit for households, though, is having trees to the east and west of the house, and to a lesser degree to the sun side (north or south depending of you hemisphere). These trees shade the walls of the house from direct radiation, helping to reduce heat-soak to the interior.
The optimum is to use deciduous trees, which allow light and warmth through to the house during winter months, but provide protective shade during the hot months.
Note that if you live in a high fire danger zone then having trees adjacent to your dwelling may not be advisable.
No comments:
Post a Comment